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Grasslands In India: Problems And Perspectives For Sustaining Livestock And Rural Livelihood, Ajoy K. Roy, Jai P. Singh

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In India, grazing-based livestock husbandry plays an important role in the rural economy as around 50% of these animals depend on grazing. Pasturelands over an area of 12 million ha constitute the main grazing resources that are available. Temperate/alpine pastures are spread across altitudes higher than 2000 m in eastern and Western Himalayas including the Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, West Bengal Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim states. In Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh,the grazing land availability is as high as 70 %. The area of pasture lands is lower in Himachal Pradesh (36.4%), Sikkim …

Forages Improve Livelihoods Of Smallholder Farmers With Beef Cattle In South Central Coastal Vietnam, Ba Xuan Nguyen, Peter A. Lane, David Parsons, Huu Van Nguyen, Phi Khanh Ho Le, Jeff P. Corfield, Tri Tuan Duong

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In South Central Coastal Vietnam, on-farm research and farmer experience demonstrated the benefits of growing improved forages as a means of improving the year round quantity and quality of feed available for beef cattle. In Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Ninh Thuan provinces, five new forage species (Panicum maximum, cv. TD58, Brachiaria hybrid cv. Mulato II, Pennisetum purpureum cv.VA06, Paspalum atratum cv. Terenos and Stylosanthes guianensis cv. CIAT 184) were evaluated for yield and crude protein concentration. There was not a consistent yield difference between locations for the forage grasses, but in Binh Dinh province P. maximum TD58 …

Albizia Procera Based Silvipastoral System: An Ideal Alternate Land Use System For Sustainable Forage Production In Semi-Arid Region, Inder Dev, S. K. Dhyani, K. B. Sridhar, Asha Ram, D. R. Palsaniya, R. K. Tewari, Ramesh Singh, Rupali Tiwwari, Madhulika Srivastava, Mahendra Singh, A. R. Uthappa, P. Rai

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

India’s economy is agro-based and about 69% of the total population depends on it for their livelihood (GoI, 2013). Livestock is the integral component of Indian agriculture since time immemorial. Its contribution to national economy through milk, meat, wool as well as farmyard manure is enormous. India has the largest number of livestock, representing over 17% of the world. Among four important species of livestock, cattle represent over 43% of the population followed by buffaloes (19%), goats (26%) and sheep (10%). The share of livestock reared is highest in marginal followed by small and semi-medium land holders implying that marginal …

In Situ Digestibility Of Gliricidia Sepium Combined With Brachiaria Decumbens In A Silvopastoral System, Suellen B. De Miranda Costa, Alexandre C. L. De Mello, José C. B. Dubeux Jr., Mércia V. F. Dos Santos, Mario De Andrade Lira, Janerson J. Coêlho, João T. C. Oliveira

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Silvopastoral system (SPS) are characterized by a combination of trees, pasture and herbivores animals, in the same physical area, in order to obtain diversified products. A promising legume tree that has been studied and used in SPS in tropical areas is gliricidia [Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Steud]. Advantages of gliricidia use in SPS include N inputs via biological fixation, improvement of soil properties, nutrient cycling and also a source of feed to grazing animals (Cubillos-Hinojosa et al., 2011). Gliricidia has high crude protein concentration in its leaves, which complements the usual N-poor diet of ruminants grazing warm-season grasses. The …

Role Of Shrubs In Rangeland Based Livestock Production System In Western Rajasthan, India, J. P. Singh, V. S. Rathore, B. K. Mathur

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Rangeland covers ~ 51% of the terrestrial surface of the Earth, and supports half of the world‟s livestock. More than 80 % of forage consumed by domestic livestock is supplied by rangelands in Africa and Asia. Hot arid regions of India cover an area of 31.7 million hectares and out of which Rajasthan state constitutes ~ 61.8 % of the entire area. The crop production in this area is low, unstable and risky. Livestock sustains arid farming systems by virtue of their potential to reduce risk, alleviate poverty, important providers of nutrients and traction for growing crops in smallholder systems …

Utilisation Of Conserved Forage To Improve Livestock Production On Smallholder Farms In Asia And Africa, Marsetyo, Muhammad Shoaib Tufail, Samuel Mbuku, Mupenzi Mutimura, Xusheng Guo, John Piltz

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Ruminant livestock are essential to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in many developing countries. Livestock production on these farms is characterised by low milk production, low live weight gain and poor reproductive performance because of poor nutrition. Access to high quality forage has been identified as key to improving livestock health and productivity. Conservation of surplus forage as hay or silage provides the opportunity to ensure livestock have access to high quality forage year-round. This paper reports on forage conservation in select countries in Asia and Africa.

Comparison Of Two Systems Of Pasture Allocation On Milking Intervals And Total Daily Milk Yield Of Dairy Cows In A Pasture-Based Automatic Milking System, Nicolas A. Lyons, Kendra L. Kerrisk, Sergio C. Garcia

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In pasture-based automatic milking systems (AMS), cows usually have a lower milking frequency (MF, the number of milking events in any 24 h period) than those reported in indoor housing systems (García and Fulkerson 2005). Moreover, milking intervals (MI, the interval between consecutive milking events, measured at every milking session in hours since the previous milking event) are higher, with up to 30% of milking events occurring with intervals above 16 h in grazing systems (NA Lyons unpublished data). Milking events occurring with long intervals have a negative effect on milk yield (Schmidt 1960) and udder health (Hammer et al. …

Animal Behaviour And Pasture Depletion In A Pasture-Based Automatic Milking System, Nicolas A. Lyons, Kendra L. Kerrisk, Sergio C. Garcia

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In an automatic milking system (AMS) feed is used as an incentive to encourage voluntary and distributed cow traffic to the milking unit (Prescott et al. 1998). Therefore the timing, placement and size of feed allocations need to be managed in order to achieve targeted milking events per day.

Behavioural studies allow the construction of time budgets (Gibb et al. 1998), and aid understanding of how cows modify their behaviour under different management regimes (Johansson et al. 1999). To date there are no published reports on how different location of feed incentives affect cows’ behaviour upon arrival at …

Herbage Yield, Quality And Nutrients Composition Of Bajra Napier (Bn) Hybrid Grass Varieties Under Central Gujarat Condition, Digvijay Singh, A. K. Garg

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Among various perennial grasses, BN hybrid grass (Pennisetum glaucum x Pennisetum purpureum) is most popular in irrigated areas of India including Gujarat state due to several factors like wide spread agro-climatic adaptability, high yield potential, nutritional quality, low cost of cultivation, insect-pest-disease resistances, tolerance to grazing/damages by wild animals, vegetative propagation and high response towards manure, fertilizer and irrigations. In Central Gujarat region, farmers are mainly cultivating CO 3 and APBN 1 varieties, which have been supplied to them by agriculture institutes. These two popular varieties were considered as local checks (LC) in trial. Three very old varieties …

Effect Of Sugar Promoters On Biomass Yield And Sugar Content Of Napier Bajra Hybrids, Rajiv K. Agrawal, G. Prabhu, K. K. Singh, Sultan Singh, M. M. Das, Satendra Kumar

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In India deficiency of green fodder is estimated to the tune of 35.7% and this difference is likely to increase in coming period due to possible decrease in acreage under fodder crops as the cultivated land is being utilized for urbanization and other industrial uses. In tropical countries like India, crop residues from cultivated crops and grasses (mainly monsoon grasses) constitute the basal diet of livestock. But the nutritive value of these grasses is low (protein and digestibility) than the fodder crops and even in green stage is able only to meet the maintenance requirement of animals. A conservative estimate …

Semi-Mechanized Harvesting Solutions For Cultivated Fodder Crops, Chandra Shekhar Sahay, P. K. Pathak, B. Narsimlu, C. R. Mehta

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In case of harvesting and threshing, the level of mechanization in India is 60-70 per cent for wheat and rice and less than five per cent for other crops (Mehta et al., 2014) that include fodder also. Herrmann et al.(2011) established that overall area capacities of machine decreased the by 4-24 per cent on taking finer chopping length of 4-6 mm compared to common chopping length of 8-10 mm in the ensiling chain of maize - establishing that finer work in ensiling commands less capacities and higher input costs. Since there is a strong correlation between effective field …

Influence Of Cutting Interval On Yield And Quality Of Purple Guinea Grass (Panicum Maximum Td58) Under Irrigation, Witthaya Sumamal, Pornchai Lowilai

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Most of dairy farmers in the northeast of Thailand are smallholders. They have limited pasture area led to lack of good quality roughage throughout the year, especially during the dry season. Farmers usually fed their cattle with agricultural by products, which have low quality and supplemented with commercial concentrate feed. It leads to high milk production cost and more problems of cattle performance. It is necessary to develop and improve the feed quality and quantity, especially pasture, the cheapest and major source of cattle feed. Due to the limited pasture area, intensive pasture system is recommended. They need a suitable …

Influence Of Foliar Sprays Of Thiourea And Sulfuric Acid Against Frost Injury In Berseem, Balwinder Kumar, R. S. Sarlach

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) is an important winter season fodder crop which occupies 2 million ha area in India (Kumar et al., 2013). Berseem is generally grown as pure stands or in mixture with annual grass species for feeding to the livestock. During severe winter month periods from December to February, berseem growth is slow due to low minimum air temperature or cold wave or frost occurrence which affects fodder availability to the livestock. To increase growth of berseem either in pure stand or in mixture, farmers generally use excessive urea which not only affects nodule development in …

Effect Of Cutting Intervals On Yield And Nutritive Value Of Stylosanthes Seabrana, Nandini Nimbkar, Sharad Choudhari, Ketaki Kanbargi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In India natural pastures do not meet the nutritional needs of grazing ruminants, and supplementary feeding of crop residues and concentrates is necessary for profitable animal production (Phaikaew et al., 2004). Stylo has a long history of research and development in India and has been used in many production systems including as a fodder crop, in ley farming and intercropping in agroforestry and silvipasture and for wasteland development and soil conservation (Ramesh et al., 1997).

Recent developments in the commercial utilization of stylo as a fodder crop have mostly been in the peninsular Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, …

Enhancing Productivity Of Guinea Grass Variety Jhgg-08-1 Through Agro-Techniques In Southern Dry Zone Of Karnataka, B. G. Shekara, H. C. Lohithaswa, M. R. Krishnappa, N. M. Chikkarugi, N. Manasa

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) is a major pan tropical grass used throughout the tropics for pasture, cut-and-carry, silage and hay. It is a fast growing and leafy grass, which is palatable to livestock with a good nutritional value. However, it is generally recommended to supplement it with sources of protein in order to meet nutritional requirements or improve animal performance. It grows well on a wide variety of well drained soils of good fertility and it is a good vegetative barrier. It can survive quick moving fires which does not harm the underground roots and drought because of …

Performance Of Guinea Grass Varieties In North Konkan Zone Of Maharashtra, A. V. Dahipahle, S. B. Bhagat, D. B. Shinde, U. V. Mahadkar, S. B. Gangawane

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) is native to Africa but this grass was introduced to almost all tropical countries as a source of animal forage. It grows well on a wide variety of well drained soils of good fertility and it is suitable to stop soil erosion. It can survive quick moving fires which does not harm the underground roots and drought because of the deep, dense and fibrous root system. Guinea grass is a colonizer of disturbed sites, including roadsides, and particularly untended areas. This robust grass forms clumps and may foster soil erosion in invaded areas. Guinea …

Defoliation Impact On The Above And Belowground Productivity Of Festuca Arundinaceae Schreb, Hennie A. Snyman, P. J. Malan

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The main objective of pasture management is to maximize plant productivity and ensure sustainable animal performance, without inducing pasture deterioration. Many researchers indicated that plant survival and sustainable production is a function of seedbed preparation, irrigation and defoliation, with defoliation having the largest impact on plant persistence (Fulkerson and Donaghy, 2001). The net effect of defoliation (degree of intensity and frequency) can therefore either be beneficial or detrimental to survival and productivity of a pasture. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of different intensities and frequencies of defoliation on above- and belowground phytomass production of the …

Performance Evaluation Of Kharif And Rabi Fodder Sorghum In Namsai District Of Arunachal Pradesh, Santosh Kumar, B. K. D. Borah, D. Borah, D. Sasmal

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Deficiency of feed and fodder accounts for half of the total loss in dairy farming therefore, forages are called as backbone of livestock industry. The scarcity of green forages and grazing resources in the country has made the livestock to suffer continuously with malnutrition resulting in their production potentiality at sub-optimum level as compared to many developed nations (Anonymous, 2012). Arunachal Pradesh is well known for its ever green vegetation and biodiversity under hilly ecosystem. Though, it is situated at remotest part of country but possess huge scope of livestock farming. Namsai district of Arunachal Pradesh is a bordering district …

Increasing Feed Conversion Efficiency In Automatic Milking Systems: The Impact Of Grain-Based Concentrate Allocation And Kikuyu (Pennisetum Clandestinum) Pasture State On Kikuyu Pasture Digestibility, Cameron E. F. Clark, Mohammed R. Islam, Ajantha Horadagoda, Ravneet Kaur, Helen Golder, Sergio C. Garcia, Kendra L. Kerrisk

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Automatic milking system (AMS) farms, rely upon voluntary cow traffic (the voluntary movement of cattle around a farm) for milk harvesting and feed consumption. Dairy cows on a pasture-based AMS farm typically move from depleted to fresh allocations of pasture in small groups, or individually, at differing times. The first cows moving to an allocation of fresh pasture get access to rapidly fermentable, ad libitum, high quality pasture in contrast to those cows accessing the same allocation towards the end of the access period. At the same time, grain-based concentrate (GBC) is allocated independent of the pasture state that …

Yield And Quality Of Perennial Forage Crops In Unconventional Lands, Champak Kumar Kundu, Pintoo Bandopadhyay, Himangshu Das

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Livestock rearing is an integral part of rural India. Livestock productivity in India is far below the desired level due to shortage in availability of green fodder for feeding the animals. The health and productivity of livestock mainly depends upon the availability of quality feed and fodders in requisite amount. The need for growing forage crops in unconventional lands is already been in discussion. In the lower Gangetic plains there farmers seldom go for fodder crops and only marginal lands are devoted for such crops. Low lying situations, marshy lands are quite frequent in the delta which may house fodders …

Enhancement In Milk Production Through Improved Production Technique Of Green Fodder, Rajiv Kumar Singh, B. S. Kirar

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Unavailability of sufficient quantity of fodder is identified as one of the major constraints in achieving desired level of livestock productivity. The available fodder can meet the demand of only 47% of total livestock population. Since green fodder cultivation is not under farmers practice in Panna district of Madhya Pradesh, maximum animals due to unavailability of sufficient quantity of green fodder, fight to prevent their life. Due to lack of knowledge about improved variety of berseem and their suitable package and practices, the farmers not capable to produce the quantity required per day basis. In view of this, KVK Panna …

Sustainable Quality Fodder Production Under Temperate Mountain Agriculture In Kashmir, Mushtaq Ahmad, Gul-Zaffar, Intikhab Aalum Jehangir, S. M. Razvi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Inadequate supply of quality feed and fodder is the primary cause of lower productivity of milch animals in India. Oats (Avena sativa L.) is an important fodder crop in J&K. Jammu and Kashmir state the fodder requirement is about 4.31 million tonnes against the available 3.26 million tonnes (Anonymous, 2008). Kashmir valley experiences a long lean period of winter, resulting in scarcity of green and quality fodder which results in drastic decrease in milk production. Therefore, to meet the need of animal products, there is a great importance of fodder cultivation to compensate fodder scarcity during lean period ( …

Forage Options For Dairy Cows, Mohammed R. Islam, Sergio C. Garcia

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

To remain competitive internationally, the Australian dairy industry will need to increase milk production per unit of land by producing and utilising more from home-grown feed. In the context of decreasing land availability but increasing feed cost per unit of land, increasing production and utilisation of home-grown feed is crucial to increase milk production in pasture-based dairy farms (Fariña et al., 2011). Pure pasture-based systems can achieve a maximum of ~20 t dry matter (DM)/ha/yr, although in practice top commercial farmers hardly exceed 15-16 t DM/ha. A strategy to increase productivity of forages is to select adequate combinations of …

Regeneration Behaviour Of Degraded Pasture Of Lasiurus Sindicus Grass Under Different Cultural Practices In Extreme Arid Conditions Of Jaisalmer, India, Ram Narayan Kumawat, Priyabrata Santra, Nawalesh Kumar Sinha

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The agriculture of seventies in the hot arid zone of India (western Rajasthan) was chiefly the subsistence farming involving rearing of livestock in association with rainfed cultivation of guar, moth and pearl millet. Pasturelands dominate among different land use systems and provide main support to the huge livestock population of the region (Kar et al., 2009). With the advent of Indira Gandhi Canal and commencement of tube-well technology in 1985, livestock based economy saw a change in the land use and large tracts of sewan grass (Lasiurus sindicus) came under the plough. Further, in arid zone as …

Identification Of Niches For Integration Of Brachiaria Grasses In Smallholder Mixed Crop-Livestock Farming Systems In Kenya, Donald M. G. Njarui, Elias M. Gichangi, Mwangi Gatheru, Michael N. Njunie, Elkana Nyambati, Keziah W. Ndungu, Joseph G. Mureithi, Sita R. Ghimire

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Inadequate quantity and quality of feed is the major constraint to livestock productivity in Kenya. Low rainfall, lack of adapted forages and poor management of sown forages are major factors that affect feed resources production. In most of the farming systems, forages are relegated to the less fertile and degraded soils resulting into poor growth. As a result the growth is poor resulting in deficient in minerals content, low crude protein (CP) and energy. The situation in exacerbated by climate variability and frequent drought. On the other hand, feed resources derived from crop residues, particularly cereals are of poor quality …

Evaluation Of Baby Corn Hybrids On Varying Plant Population And Nutrient Levels, M. Hargilas

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

India is a largest producer country of the milk with largest livestock population in the world. Main herds of cow/ buffalo exist in surrounding areas of town and cities for supply of milk. The animal productivity directly depends on the availability of good quality green fodder. At present, the country faces a net deficit of 35.6% of green fodder, 26% of drycrop residues and 41% of concentrate feed ingredients (www.dare.nic.in/nodel/87). To overcome this problem, there is a need to shift from sole food and fodder crops to the dual or multipurpose food cum fodder crops. Under this situation, baby corn …

Effect Of Nitrogen And Phosphorus Application On Productivity, Nutrient Uptake And Quality Of Teosinte (Zea Mexicana L.) Fodder, Magan Singh, A. S. Harika, P. S. Oberoi, Rakesh Kumar

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Teosinte (Zea mexicana L.) is popularly known as Makchari being a close relative of maize. It provides succulent, palatable and nutritive fodder during Kharif season for feeding the animals as green fodder or conserved fodder in the form of silage. Teosinte is an excellent multicut fodder which gives high yield of nutritious green lush fodder in 65-70 days with less inputs as compared to maize. Nitrogen is an essential component of proteins, nucleic acid, enzymes, coenzymes, chlorophyll and cell wall. Phosphorus plays a vital role in crop production as it is involved in CO₂ fixation, sugar metabolism, energy …

Gaps And Variability In Pasture Utilisation In Australian Pasture-Based Dairy Systems, Sergio C. Garcia, Cameron E. F. Clark, Kendra L. Kerrisk, Mohammed R. Islam, S. R. Fariña, J. Evans

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

We used commercial farm data from 4 states of Australia and 9 subsets of data from 4 whole farm system studies conducted in Australia and New Zealand to: (1) explore the relationship between pasture utilisation and farm profitability; (2) identify gaps and causes of both between and within-farm variability in pasture utilisation; and (3) discuss possibilities to reduce these gaps through the application of technology-based solutions. Results confirm that the amount of pasture utilised per ha is a key driver of profitability of Australian pasture-based systems. In spite of this, the gap between potential (research) and commercial reality is huge. …

The Role Of Botanical Garden Of Pbai In Bydgoszcz In Promoting The Crop And Usage Of Perennial C4 Grasses In Poland, Włodzimierz Majtkowski, Gabriela Majtkowska, Bartosz Tomaszewski

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Among the over 300 grass species known from Poland, there are about 160 species well established in the flora (~130 native with C3 photosynthesis pathway and ~30 aliens), and nearly 150 ephemerophytes, occasional escapers from cultivation or cultivated species (Mirek and Piękoś-Mirkowa 2002). Grasses from other climatic zones have been introduced to our country in recent years, especially as ornamental plants and as a source of biomass for energy purposes. The studies conducted since the 1990s in Botanical Garden of PBAI in Bydgoszcz, where the National Grass Collection is located, have contributed considerably to the popularization of C4 grasses in …

Spider Fauna (Araneae: Araneomorphae) In Natural Grasslands Of Uruguay With Different Livestock Management, Álvaro Laborda, Rafael A. Tosi-Germán, Sebastián Donate, Oscar Blumetto

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In Uruguay natural grasslands sustain cattle ranching and are the country’s main renewable resource. This ecosystem not only serves a productive function, but also functions in geophysical processes of soils and sustaining the nation’s biodiversity through complex trophic webs (Berretta 2009). Increased pressure from human activities that exploit natural resources makes it necessary to possess tools for detecting disturbances in ecosystems and assessing their conservation status. Identifying indicator taxa is essential for evaluating the degree of impact on natural grasslands and for applying this in the development of management plans for this habitat type (Avalos et al. 2007; Cardoso …