Forage potential of three wild species of genus Lupinus (Leguminosae) from Mexico

Abstract

The study of new legumes species in terms of yield and quality of forage under cultivation conditions is essential to improving the productivity of animal production. We evaluated the yield and nutritional quality of forage under irrigation conditions for three wild lupin species from Mexico (L. exaltatus, L. mexicanus, and L. rotundiflorus) at different stages of maturity. The experiment was conducted from November 2016 to March 2017 in Jalisco, Mexico. In general, the dry matter (DM) in all species increased with advancing maturity, but L. exaltatus presented the best production of forage 15, 143 kg/ha-1 DM, followed by L. mexicanus (9, 140 kg/ha-1 DM) on the third sampling date. The low forage yield in L. rotundiflorus was compensated by a higher average protein content (171.2 g/kg). The highest P and K content was recorded in L. rotundiflorus, whereas Ca and Mg were higher in the forage of L. mexicanus.