Assessment of dairy farm management practices under field conditions of Toba Tek Singh

A survey study supported by Endowment Fund Secretariate University of Agriculture Faisalabad was conducted in rural areas (375 Chawan, 376 Bassi old, 376 Bassi new and 377 Massetain J.B) of Toba Tek Singh to investigate the ongoing practices at dairy farmers' level. For this purpose, thirty dairy farmers from each village were selected at random and personally interviewed by using the pre-tested interview schedule. Survey findings indicated that almost all the farmers were following the traditional practices for raising/managing their dairy animals. The awareness and adoption of recommended technologies was very limited. Majority of the farmers were depending on livestock for their livelihood. In time colostrum feeding and the practice about navel cord care were lacking. All the farmers had lay man idea and firm belief that colostrum feeding before dam placenta expulsion is injurious. The adoption trend for deworming and dipping of calves was only 33 and 31 %, respectively. Due to raising calves on traditional lines, up to 50% mortality was found. The adoption of recommended feeding management techniques (high yielding fodder varieties, silage making, balanced ration, urea treated wheat straw, urea molasses blocks) was nil. All the farmers were using cottonseed cake as a concentrate, and only 46.66 and 39.16 % farmers were adopting the practice of vaccination against (hemorrhagic septicemia & foot and mouth disease) and parasite control. The practice of mastitis detection and teat dipping did not exist. Milk letdown was done through calf (70 %), oxytocin injection (25 %) and concentrate feedings (5%). Majority of the animals were milked by females through folded thumb. Only 45 % respondents were washing the teat /udder of cow /buffalo before milking and 65 % were using the milk foam on teats. In brief, farmers were totally ignorant about recommended techniques hence the result high calf mortality, delayed age at maturity, low milk production, high cost of feeding and low profitability

Enhancement of Propagation Using Organic Materials and Growth Hormone: A Study on the Effectiveness of Growth and Rooting of Pomegranate Cuttings

Pomegranate production in Afghanistan is increasing remarkably, but nursery services are lacking, leading to inconsistent growth and low rooting percentages in cuttings. Hence, this research was conducted at the greenhouse of Nangarhar University, Faculty of Agriculture, to investigate the efficacy of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and organic materials, namely banana, garlic, aloe vera, and panchagavya, as rooting promoters on cuttings of the ideal seedless pomegranate cultivar (Bedana). The cuttings were derived from one-year-old dormant branches in mid-February of 2023. The findings indicated that panchagavya and aloe vera significantly (p p < 0.05) impacted root length, acrobasal roots, root diameter, total root length, and root fresh weight. However, banana and garlic yielded contrasting results in most of these parameters. In conclusion, aloe vera and panchagavya are found to be more suitable for propagating pomegranates through cuttings, making them excellent alternatives to IBA for nurserymen and companies