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Roxburgh fig (Ficus auriculata)

Datasheet

Description
Click on the "Nutritional aspects" tab for recommendations for ruminants, pigs, poultry, rabbits, horses, fish and crustaceans
Roxburgh fig (Ficus auriculata)
Roxburgh fig (Ficus auriculata), leaf
Roxburgh fig (Ficus auriculata), young leaf
Roxburgh fig (Ficus auriculata), fruits
Roxburgh fig (Ficus auriculata), fruits and trunk
Common names 

Roxburgh fig, elephant ear fig tree [English]; higuera del Himalaya [Spanish]; vả [Vietnamese]; വലിയ അത്തി [Malayalam]

Species 

Ficus auriculata Lour. [Moraceae]

Synonyms 

Ficus oligodon Miq., Ficus roxburghii Wall. Ex Steud. (USDA, 2010)

Feed categories 
Related feed(s) 
Description 

The roxburgh fig tree (Ficus auriculata Lour.) is a perennial evergreen shrub or small tree that grows up to 12 m high. Leaves are ovate and very large (30-40 cm). They start off being red then turn to green. Fruits are pear-shaped and reddish-brown, hanging on peduncles 2.5 cm or longer. Fruits appear on thin branches emerging from the trunk or from the roots. The fruits are edible and are used to make jams, juices and curries in India. In Vietnam, unripe fruits are also used in salads. Leaves are used as fodder for ruminants (Jansen et al., 1991).

Distribution 

Native to Asia, it is cultivated from the Himalayas to southern China, Hainan, India and the Malay Peninsula, and in South America in Brazil. It thrives on rich organic moist soils and it is sensitive to drying winds (Jansen et al., 1991).

Environmental impact 

Ficus auriculata may be cultivated for erosion control (Ecocrop, 2009).

Nutritional aspects
Ruminants 

Cattle

Working oxen fed on rice straw supplemented with Ficus auriculata leaves, rather than rice straw alone, were found to have higher DM intake, and the supplemented group regained weight after work whilst the control group did not (Pearson, 1990).

Ficus auriculata had a negative effect on the milk yield of lactating buffaloes (Shrestha et al., 1989).

Goats

In goats, it was found to be able to support moderate growth but was considered unable to support maximum production (Khanal et al., 2008).

Rabbits 

The weight gain of New Zealand white rabbits fed Ficus auriculata fodder decreased by 14% in comparison with those fed rice bean fodder (Singh et al., 1996).

Nutritional tables
Tables of chemical composition and nutritional value 
References
References 
Ecocrop, 2009. Ecocrop database. FAO web icon
Jansen, P. C. M. ; Jukema, J. ; Oyen, L. P. A. ; van Lingen, T. G., 1991. Ficus auriculata Lour.. Record from Proseabase. Verheij, E.W.M. and Coronel, R.E. (Editors). PROSEA (Plant Resources of South-East Asia) Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia web icon
Khanal, R. C. ; Upreti, C. R., 2008. Evaluation of selected species of tree fodders cultivated for feeding ruminants in the hills of Nepal. Pakistan J. Nutr., 7 (2): 297-302 web icon
Paterson, R. T. ; Clinch, N. J. L., 1993. Use of trees by livestock 7: Ficus. National Resources Institute, Chatham, UK, 22 p. web icon
Pearson, R. A., 1990. A note on live weight and intake and digestibility of food by draught cattle after supplementation of rice straw with the fodder tree Ficus auriculata. Anim. Prod., 51 (3): 635-638 web icon
Shrestha, N. P. ; Pakhrin, B., 1989. Effect of different tree fodders on milk production in buffaloes. PAC Technical Paper - Pakhribas Agricultural Centre, 117: 8 pp
Singh, K. A. ; Balaraman, N. ; Bhusan, B. ; Pradhan, I. P., 1996. Studies on nevaro (Ficus auriculata) based silvopastoral systems in eastern Himalaya. Range Manage. Agrofor., 16 (2): 115-121
USDA, 2010. GRIN - Germplasm Resources Information Network. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland web icon
Walker, D. H. ; Thorne, P. J. ; Sinclair, F. L.; Thapa, B. ; Wood, C. D. ; Subba, D. B., 1999. A systems approach to comparing indigenous and scientific knowledge: consistency and discriminatory power of indigenous and laboratory assessment of the nutritive value of tree fodder. Agric. Syst., 62 (2): 87-103 web icon
9 references found
Datasheet citation 

Heuzé V., Tran G., 2015. Roxburgh fig (Ficus auriculata). Feedipedia, a programme by INRAE, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. https://feedipedia.org/node/612 Last updated on October 5, 2015, 11:42

English correction by Tim Smith (Animal Science consultant) and Hélène Thiollet (AFZ)
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