Seasonal and Altitudinal Variation in Chemical Composition of Celtis australis L. Tree Foliage

Celtis australis is an important agroforestry tree in the Himalayan region providing major fodder to the livestock and many other needs for sustaining life in local rural communities. Including their fodder value and wide altitudinal distribution ranges, it is extracted by the villagers in large scale during the lean period (May to June). Thus, the aim was to understand the nutritive values of the species influenced by the altitude and harvesting season. For this investigation, leaves of C. australis were collected from four different altitudes during the months of February to December. The nutritive value of collected foliage, i.e., dry matter, ash, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, crude protein, crude fiber, starch, sugar, and phenolic were estimated by using stranded methods. The results of present study reveal that significant seasonal variations have been observed for the chemical composition of C. australis tree foliage collected from different altitudes. On an average, between seasons, crude protein ranged from 9.17 to 16.97%, phosphorus 0.08 to 0.16%, potassium 0.28 to 0.76%, crude fiber 13.94 to 19.80%, sugars 1.11 to 1.83%, and starch 4.79 to 6.53%. Altitude also significantly influenced nutritive content. Between altitudes, phosphorus ranged from 0.10 to 0.11%, potassium 0.42 to 0.50%, crude protein 12.66 to 14.02%, crude fiber 1.61 to 1.71%, sugars 1.45 to 1.66%, starch 4.71 to 6.31%, and phenolic 0.43 to 0.78%. Potassium, calcium, crude protein, and starch were significantly positively correlated with altitude of foliage collection. However, dry matter content, phosphorus, and soluble sugars, significantly correlated inversely with altitude.