Resumen

ARGUELLO-RANGEL, Jeraldyn; MAHECHA-LEDESMA, Liliana  y  ANGULO-ARIZALA, Joaquín. Fodder shrubs: relevance in cattle systems of Colombian low altitude lands. Agron. Mesoam [online]. 2019, vol.30, n.3, pp.899-915. ISSN 2215-3608.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/am.v30i3.35136.

Introduction. Low tropics lands cattle, face the challenge to adapt the production systems to the climate change consequences, wich has generated longer dry seasons and more food shortage for the animals during these periods. Objective. The objective of this literature review was to collect and analyze research results on shrubs forage species Tithonia diverfisolia, Gliricidia sepium, Cratylia argentea, and Crescentia cujete as a strategy to improve the nutritional offer in livestock in the low tropics. Development. In Colombia, beef cattle production is mainly located in the low tropics, and usually have feeding problems due to poor grasses quality and low availability in drought period. Silvopastoral systems (SSP) contribute to improve the productive and reproductive performance of cattle, since they integrate trees and/or shrubs, and grasses, combining diverse forage strata, with a greater nutritional and forage offer than conventional systems. The shrubs T. diverfisolia, G. sepium, C. argentea, y C. cujete due to their multipurpose characteristics, biomass production, and adaptation to diverse climatic and edaphic conditions, have been used in grazing, fodder banks, live fences and forage conservation, e.g. silage. Conclusion. Due to their characteristics, uses, biomass production, and nutritional profile, it would be pertinent to evaluate the behavior of these species in feeding strategies in cattle farms under tropics conditions.

Palabras clave : Gliricidia sepium; Cratylia argentea; Crescentia cujete; silvopastoral systems; Tithonia diversifolia.

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