Llamas (Lama glama) take advantage of poor natural forage (grasses and others) due to their efficient digestive physiology that is adapted for this type of forage. The problem now faced is the gradual exhaustion of the native grassland (low phytomass production). The vegetation does not cover the dry matter consumption requirements, and less so the nutrient requirements, of these animals. Because of this there is the necessity of determining the botanical composition, pasture selection by plant parts, and chemical composition of what llamas ingest in order to improve these animals' nutrition in the pasture. This study occurred at the Larqa Uma ranch, located on Cachaca hill, north of the community of Pujrata, Santiago de Callapa municipality, Pacajes province, department of La Paz. It is located between 4390 and 4530 meters above sea level, at 17° 14' South latitude by 68° 18' West longitude. The botanical composition, plant parts, and chemical composition (organic matter content, raw protein, and neutral detergent fiber) of pastured llama ingestions were determined on the reserved pasture and the pasture with native grasses during February, March, and April in the rainy season. Three male q'ara-variety llamas of three ages were used. They were fistulated at the esophagus to collect ingestion samples. Determination of botanical composition of the ingestions was done by the point stereoscopic technique (Heady and Torrel 1959), and the chemical composition by Proximal Weende analysis (organic matter and raw protein) and the Van Soest method (neutral detergent fiber). The variance analysis showed highly significant differences for the botanical composition of llama ingestions by pasture groups (p0.05). The llamas selected 80.13% grasses, higher than the other pasture groups: 8.64% for grassoids and 8.63% herbs, which were selected in similar proportions (p>0.05). Statistically, there are no differences between these pasture groups found in llama ingestions. Shrubs contributed a very low proportion of ingestion (2.86%). Selection for grasses (84.95%) during February was higher than the month of April and similar to March. In contrast, the March average of 80.62% is similar to the first month and higher than in April (74.83%). Shrub consumption of 4.36% during April was higher than in February and similar to in March. March's average of 3.92% is similar to the last month and higher than in February (0.20%). During February, March, and April, grass consumption by llamas (84.95%, 80.62%, and 74.83%, respectively) was higher than the average consumption of the other pasture groups. Grassoids, herbs, and shrubs were selected in similar proportions (p>0.05). The variance analysis showed highly significant differences for selection for parts of the plants, interaction between the evaluation month with parts of the plant, and interaction of pasturing site with plant parts (p<0.05).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BGMYU2/oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-6323 |
| Date | 01 January 2003 |
| Creators | Achu Nina, Cristóbal |
| Publisher | BYU ScholarsArchive |
| Source Sets | Brigham Young University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Coverage | Pacajes (Bolivia: Province) |
| Rights | http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/ |
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