STRATEGIES FOR OVERCOMING GMELINA ARBOREA AS
BROWSE PLANT FROM EXTINCTION AT GARKAWA
S. D. Sudik and G. P. Gofwan
Department
of Animal Health and Production,
Plateau State College of Agriculture, Garkawa,
Nigeria
E-mail: davidsudik@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
It was observed that most plants naturally established were
usually left uncared and such plants were getting extinct due to their alarming
rate of dying. One of such plant was Gmelina arborea. Animals attack this plant
by peeling its bark. There were 15 matured Gmelina arborea stands in the College
of Agriculture, Garkawa, majority, 53.33% were death;
26.67% were under attack and only 20% were safe. The measures given to stop
animals attacking this plant were fencing
of each Gmelina arborea stand, or fencing the whole College premises, and
rubbing sheep and goats’ faeces on the stem of Gmelina arborea. If these
suggested measures are adopted the issue of Gmelina arborea dying and getting extinct
would be overcome.
INTRODUCTION
Gmelina arborea belongs to the family Verbinaceae.
A woody plant used mainly for light construction and for pulp (Lauridsen, 1986). Farmers used the
fresh leaf and tender stem/twig to feed livestock. In the dry season animals on
their own searched for the flowers and fruits (Omokanye et al., 2014). Also, the fruit, leaf,
flower and bark of Gmelina arborea has been reported as medicinal (Lauridsen, 1986). In recent times, the
bark of Gmelina arborea is most sought
by animals as feed and it was one of the common tree plants in the College of
Agriculture, Garkawa. Animals in group come round the plants and begin to peel the
bark from the base. Most worrisome is that the plants were left uncared. Taking
the stock of this plant, determining the level of which it is being destroyed
animals and ways of preventing animals attacking the plants formed the focus of
this study.
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