Aleppo grass is considered as an excellent grass for hay and pasture (Duke, 1983). It is very palatable and nutritious in the early growing stage and hay quality is the highest at boot stage (FAO, 2010; Göhl, 1982). Application of fertilizer has been shown to increase digestibility and protein content (Bennett, 1973). In vitro DM digestibility decreases over time: an experiment reported values decreasing from 63-66% to 47% between June and August (Rankins et al., 1995).
Dairy cattle
For dairy cows, Aleppo grass hay was found to be comparable to timothy hay and, when fertilizer was applied, comparable to alfalfa hay and superior to oat and soybean hays (Duke, 1983). The addition of 20% ground Aleppo grass hay in a total mixed ration for dairy cows gave satisfactory results (Acevedo Rosario et al., 1997). In India, Aleppo grass hay harvested at flowering stage fed ad libitum met the nutritional requirements of 27-28 month old heifers with a DM intake of 94 g/kg W0.75/day (Sanjeev Kumar et al., 1997).
Beef cattle
Aleppo grass can be grazed permanently by steers to support daily gains similar to other warm-season forages such as Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) and Bahia grass (Paspalum notatum) (Rankins et al., 1995).
Sheep
The nutritive value of Aleppo grass silage was improved when supplemented with fermented fish wastes for adult rams (Rodriguez Carias et al., 2006). In growing lambs, Aleppo grass silage mixed with broiler litter, while being less digestible than maize silage, was found to be economically acceptable and a viable alternative for ensiling broiler litter (Rude et al., 1993).
