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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 …

Yak Rearing On High Altitude Pastures Of Northeastern Himalaya Of India: Their Utilization Strategies And Rejuvenation, Vijay Paul, Sanjit Maiti, G. Krishnan, D. Medhi, S. M. Deb

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Yak rearing on alpine pastures is the main occupation of the highland pastoral nomads (Brokpa and Dokpas) of north-east (NE) India. These pastoral nomads living in the remote mountains solely rely on high altitude pastures for their nutritional and livelihood security because of virtual existence of agricultural activities in this area. They rear yaks under transhumance and utilize various pastures while migrating from low land winter pastures to high altitude alpine pastures during summer. Therefore, the temperate and alpine pastures are the major feed resources for the yaks. The indiscriminate use of pastures and impending climate change results …

Use Of Native Grassland In Small-Scale Dairy Systems In The Highlands Of Central Mexico. A Case Study, P. A. Sainz-Sanchez, Carloss Manuel Arriaga-Jordan, D. Heredia Nava, C. G. Martinez-Garcia, F. Vicente, L. R. Garcia-Winder, A. Martinez-Fernandez

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Small-scale dairy systems in Mexico comprise 78% of specialized dairy farms and provide 37% of national production. They are small farms with herds 3-35 cows plus replacements, and rely on family labour (Posadas-Domínguez et al., 2014).

In the highlands, many farms have native grasslands, grazed during the rainy season, and supplemented with other feeds as maize straw, maize grain and maize ears. Native grasslands have not been studied in this context. This is a case study on the use of native grassland in a small-scale dairy farm. The objective was to determine how native grasslands are integrated in feeding …

Integrating The Bioenergy Production With Biodiversity Conservation On Semi-Natural And Riparian Grasslands, Tomasz Goliński, Piotr Goliński

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Semi-natural grasslands in Poland have been identified as having extraordinary biodiversity value. In the past, the species richness of these semi-natural landscapes has been managed through grazing. However, livestock numbers are now in decline, many grasslands are abandoned and consequently the diversity of these landscapes is under threat. In order to prevent these habitats from turning to scrublands, these areas have to be extensively harvested. Regulations dictate a late harvest time to allow reproduction of the flora and fauna. Many of semi-natural and riparian grasslands are protected under the European Habitats Directive and their management is financially supported by introduction …

How Many Persian Gazelle (Gazella Subgutturosa) Can Graze On Golestan National Park Of Iran?, Elham Bagherirad, Norhayati Ahmad, Mansour Mesdaghi, Masoume Amirkhani

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Golestan National Park, with an area of 98,000 hectares and diverse fauna and flora is one of the famous national parks in the Middle East. Carrying capacity was analysed based on available forage and dry matter demand of Persian gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) in spring and winter on steppe parts of Golestan National Park. The Persian gazelle is the most important ungulate species within the arid regions of Iran as well as other countries in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Western China (Farhadinia et al. 2009). This species currently categorized Vulnerable (VU) (IUCN Red List 2012). Although …

Integration Of Biodiversity And Agricultural Production Across Australian Temperate Grasslands, Kerry L. Bridle, Jim Crosthwaite, Louise Gilfedder

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The transformation of Australian agriculture over the 20th Century saw the conversion of native pastures to improved pastures, largely through the application of artificial fertilisers. During this time biodiversity conservation was largely confined to iconic scenic reserves on public land. Today, nationally endangered temperate native grassland communities are largely confined to private land. The development of the Landcare Movement in the 1980s highlighted the role that agricultural land managers and agricultural landscapes play in maintaining biodiversity across the continent. Research into on-farm conservation was soon being funded by governments at state and commonwealth levels, as well as industry bodies. These …

Strategies To Ameliorate Pasture Production For Livestock In High Altitude Regions, M. M. Roy

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The high altitude regions in India exhibit a diverse climate, topography, vegetation, ecology and land use pattern. The annual average rainfall varies from 80 mm in Ladakh to over 200 cm in some parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The vegetation varies from the scrub in the lower hills to arctic in the Greater Himalaya (GJK 2004). In this region, Ladakh is a unique land form encompassing distinct physical features, ecology, environment, ethnicity, agricultural systems and livestock rearing practices. This region experiences a very hostile climate and winter temperature may go as low as -30⁰ C. Summer temperature …

Local Use And Knowledge Validation Of Fodder Trees And Shrubs Resources Browsed By Livestock In Manipur (India), R. Joseph Koireng, Ansarul Haq, Kh. Priya Devi

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

North Eastern states of India particularly in Manipur livestock rearing were being considered as one of the important homestead activities in the farm household. In the rural household economy, livestock is considered as an inseparable component in the whole farm business, as the production of milk and meat as well as manure, draught and transportation depends on it. It provides nutritional security to farm family and stabilizes farm income too.

As a major source of animal feeds in Manipur, fodder trees and shrubs are highly valued by farmers. They have deep root systems enabling the extraction of water and nutrients …

Framing Effect And Pastoralist Decision Making Behavior Regarding Lambing Time-An Analysis From Inner Mongolia, China, Yanting Yin, Xiangyang Hou, Xiangjun Yun, Xiliang Li

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grassland is the largest terrestrial ecosystem in China. However, it is seriously degraded. Lower stocking rates have been necessary for rehabilitating the degraded grassland. In order to rehabilitate the grassland the government proposed the “balancing animals and grass” policy. However, it has been resisted by pastoralists. (Brown et al., 2009). The reasons for the policy’s failure have been widely discussed. To date, there has been a lack of discussion on explicitly addressing the role of pastoralist behavior regarding stock numbers and lambing time. The pastoralists continue to maintain their traditional stocking rate, and take short-term adaptive measures to balance their …

Pasture Management For Sustainable Forage Production, Pijush Kanti Mukherjee, Putan Singh, S. S. Singh

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In the livestock management grazing was the major feed resources in the past and even today a significant portion of livestock is being sustained on grazing resources from pastures and other grazing lands like forest, fallow lands, cultivable waste lands etc.

During the last few decades ever increasing livestock population has created enormous grazing pressure on pasture resources leading to deterioration and destruction of pastures. This has led to the urgent need of improvement of pastures as well as judicious implementation of grazing management practices. There has been certain constraints on pasture development which include fragmentation and degradation of …

Herders’ Forage-Livestock Decision Behavior In Northern Grassland Regions Of China, Xiangyang Hou, Yanting Yin, Tingting Wang

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

China has approximately 393 million hectares of grasslands, accounting for 41.7% of the national land area. However, 90% of useable grasslands are degraded because of human and natural reasons. Overgrazing was the dominant factor affecting grassland condition. In order to control the grassland degradation problems, the government has proposed the „forage-livestock balance‟ policy in 2002. A series of ecological policies were (Hou et al., 2013) and outcomes have been described as a “partial improvement amidst overall deterioration”. Reasons for apparent failure of the policy have been the subject of much discussion over the years. However, there has been a …

Improving A Transhumance Livestock System Of India With Modern Technologies, Mounir Louhaichi, Arun Kumar Misra, Khem Chand, Mahesh Kumar Gaur, Douglas E. Johnson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Traditional livestock rearing systems in grasslands evolved in response to social, climatic, vegetative and technological conditions that existed scores, hundreds, or in some cases up to a thousand of years ago. Many of these systems involve vertical transhumance where flocks and herds are moved up elevation gradients for summer pasturage or horizontal transhumance in which livestock migrate across greater distances in response to regional rainfall patterns and the resulting availability of forage. In spite of the relatively low earnings of individual herders, these pastoral systems can contribute substantially to the national economies, while providing sustenance and food security to significant …

Water Use Efficiency And Evapotranspiration Of Hybrid Napier (Pennisetum Purpureum X P. Americanum) Under Semi-Arid Indian Region, J. B. Singh, Rajiv K. Agrawal, Pradeep Behari

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Napier bajra hybrid (Pennisetum glaucum x P. purpureum) is a highly valued for its abundant quality forage, round the year fodder availability, regenerative ability and suitability to silage and hay making. It yields upto 110-120 t/ha fresh fodder as sole crop. Though, it requires moist regimes for optimum growth, but it can withstand drought for a short spell and regenerate with rains. It contains 8.7-10.2 % crude protein, 28-30.5% crude fibre and 10-11.5 % ash on dry matter basis (Agrawal et al., 2001). The hybrid napier has wider adaptability and is grown all over the country, …

Evaluation Of Grasses Raised Through Sewage Water In Musi, Hyderabad, M. Shanti, K. Narasimha Reddy, M. C. Patnaik, R. V. T. Balazzii Naaiik, T. Shashikala, Ch. Chiranjeevi, R. Susheela, M. Anuradha

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Growing of various crops utilizing sewage is a common scenario in many urban and sub-urban areas. The crops mostly include forage crops, leafy vegetables, vegetables and sometimes food grains. These sewage waters are known to contain undesirable constituents like heavy metals, pesticide residues besides, harmful pathogens. These undesirable components can make way very possibly from sewage to soils, plant parts; there by to even milk, thus entering into food chain. Musi, a tributary of Krishna on whose banks Hyderabad lays is the main fodder bank of the city. Thousand of hactares of land resembling vast grassland ecosystem is under cultivation …

Effect Of Planting Methods And Forage Crop Combinations On Fodder Productivity Through Moisture Conservation, Kauthale Vitthal Keshav, P. S. Takawale, S. D. Patil

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Out of 140.02 million ha cultivated area of the country, 76.76 million ha (54.82 %) is rainfed having soils with poor fertility and numerous physiochemical constraints. The productivity of animals is very low because of shortage of green fodder during most of the years. The poor feed quality and dry season feed shortage are the serious limitations for livestock production in rainfed areas & farmers maintain a large herd of animals to compensate for the low productivity of the livestock, which adds to the pressure on land and fodder resources (Pathak, 2005).

Western Maharashtra region suffers from very low rainfall …

Relationship Between Rainfall And Annual Forage Biomass To Build A Forage-Balance Guarantee System In Brazilian Semiarid, Ana Clara Rodrigues Cavalcante, Rodrigo Gregório Da Silva, Magno José Duarte Cândido, Jay Peter Angerer

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Semiarid regions around the world are characterized by elevated annual evapotranspiration and irregular rainfalls (Creswell and Martin, 1998), resulting in a negative water balance in most part of the year. The high rainfall variability associated to a high pressure on natural resources generated a scenario of degradation, which is worrying for the future of many rangelands. In this sense, it is urgent to understand the processes involved in the sustainability of vulnerable ecosystems to keep them productive and profitable. Among the rural activities in the semiarid regions, the raising of livestock has been contributed to become the farms viable. To …

Tillage And Mulching Effects On Crop Productivity And Moisture Dynamics In Fodder Sorghum Based Cropping Systems Under Rainfed Condition, Kiran Kumar, T. Palsaniya, A. K. Dixit, G. Prabhu, Manoj Chaudhary

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Indian farmers generally take more than one crop in a year to maximize their total production and profits. In this process fodder sorghum followed by crops like chickpea, wheat, oat, barley and mustard are common in Bundelkhand region of central India. The soils of Budelkhand region of India are medium to low in fertility with low organic matter content and poor water holding capacity that limits the fodder and food productivity. Therefore, adoption of resource conserving technologies in fodder sorghum based cropping systems under rainfed conditions is one of the potential areas, where increase in green fodder and food production …

Effects Of Alternate Furrow Irrigation On The Forage Quality Of Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa), Xiao Yu, Zhengang Guo, Tingting Jia, Yuying Shen

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is widely used to establish pasture to sustain animal production because of its high nutritional quality for livestock (Bouton, 2012). Therefore improving quality of alfalfa pasture is the main goal for establishing pasture throughout the world. Irrigation is an important approach for achieving high qualities of alfalfa pasture, however, the scarcity of water threatens the sustainability of world alfalfa production, requiring us to force on using water more efficiently (Liu and Guo, 2013). Alternate furrow irrigation has been proved as a water-saving technique to promote fruit quality of tomatoes and grapevines and the seed quality …