Nutritive value of Salix leaves for sheep

Sheep, goat and cattle are the main domesticated animals in Jammu and Kashmir State. Although sheep and goat are-chiefly raised on grazing, but during winter when greenery perishes from the scenario in Kashmir Valley, tree fodders account for about 60% of their-diet (Ganai et al., 2004). Among fodder trees, Salix leaves is the principal fodder fed during winter to sheep and goat. Salix, a multipurpose tree is available throughout Kashmir Valley. Besides being used for fodder, it is used-for fire wood, sports, soil conservation, silvipasture development and land reclamation. In Kashmir Valley the loppings are collected only once in a year (Mid September to October), yielding about 30-40 kg fodder in a lopping from an average tree. The trees again sprout in March and remain green almost upto mid November. The best growth of the trees is observed in marshy areas. Several varieties of Salix are available like Salix alba, Salix viminalis, Salix tetrasperma, Salix babylonica etc. Mattoo and Ganai (2004) had not reported any variation in chemical composition of these Salix species. In the present experiment nutritive value of this fodder tree have been studied for sheep.