Nasrullah et al., 2004. Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci., 17 (1): 63-67

In order to evaluate the nutritive value of the forage plants in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, 266 samples (61 grasses and 65 legumes grown in the dry season; 60 grasses and 80 legumes grown in the rainy season) were collected from the highland and the lowland in 1998-2000, and were subjected to the determination of mineral composition. The mean contents of Ca, Mg, P, Na, and K in grasses were 0.6, 0.3, 0.5, 0.1, and 2.3%, respectively. The contents of these minerals in legumes were 1.8, 0.5, 0.8, 0.1, and 1.7%, respectively. The least squares analysis of variance demonstrated that for the grasses, Ca content was significantly affected by the year * season, year * altitude, and season * altitude interactions. Mg content was significantly affected by year and season, and P content was significantly affected by altitude, year, and year * altitude interaction. For the legumes, Ca content was significantly affected by altitude and year * season, season * altitude, and year * altitude interactions. Mg content was significantly affected by season or altitude and year * season interaction. These results indicated that Ca content of forage plants grown at the lowland in rainy season was higher than at the highland in dry season. Mg content of forage plants grown at the lowland in dry season was higher than at the highland in rainy season, and P content of forage plants grown in the highland was higher than in the lowland.