preparationViable, clean and disease free M. oleifera seeds were obtained fromThe Egyptian Association of Moringa (National Research Centre, Egypt),and planted in density 100,000–150,000 seeds per ha.
Before sowing,seeds were soaked in water for 24 h then kept in dark for 24 h for scarification and better germination. The land was irrigated biweekly with 1800 m 3 water ha−1 month−1.
Before starting the experiment, a uniformity cut was carried out 65 days after seeding, when plants reached a height of 65–70 cm (5–7 mm cutting height).
Usually, M. oleifera is then cut after 40 days of regrowth resulting in 9 harvests per year and yielding 70–80 tonnes of fresh biomass ha−1 year−1(∼23 tonnes DM ha−1 year−1).
For this particular experiment, Moringa biomass (composed of leaves and thin twigs, branches and stems) was harvested in a different way following a cut-and-carry approach so that the amount of Moringa biomass required to feed the goats was collected daily from the field every morning, mixed with the diet and immediately offered to the goats.
The material collected was always from 40 (±5) days aftermaths. Additionally, Moringa material was sampled daily, composited weekly and dried at 60◦C in a forced-air oven for 48 h and stored for later chemical analysis.