ABSTRACT
Grazing halophytes on revegetated saline land provides an opportunity for a productive solution to a widespread environmental problem. Consequently, there have been many experiments to evaluate the usefulness of halophytes for grazing,
The University of Western Australia, Western Australia, Australia. Email: david.masters@uwa.edu.au
with considerable debate about the feeding value of these plants. Early publications included two consistent observations. Firstly, that grazing animals do not grow as well as predicted from the dry matter available and the measured in vitro analysis of the plants (Morecombe et al. 1996) and secondly, that livestock often (but not always) preferentially consume other plant species which are opportunistically growing among the halophytes even though they appear to have lower nutritive value and dry matter availability (Graetz and Wilson 1980; Norman et al. 2010b). Such observations have slowed the adoption of the technology available to plant and graze chenopods. It is likely that the methods used to assess the feeding value of these plants are not appropriate or accurate and that progress in the selection and breeding of halophytes for livestock has been held back by the uncertainty around the measurements made. This review addresses the methods available for the assessment of feeding value of halophytes for livestock.
