Effect of Feeding Time and Nutrient Degradability in Sorghum Stover Based Feeding System on Ruminal Microbial Protein Synthesis in Crossbred Cattle

Farmers fed sorghum stover as staple roughages for low milk yielding dairy cattle was surveyed followed by in vitro and in vivo experiments to enhance rumen microbial protein synthesis in cattle without altering the quantity of forage / feed ingredients. The survey revealed that majority of farmers fed roughages twice daily during morning and evening and supplemented with groundnut cake at forenoon and evening along with de-oiled rice bran in drinking water. The in vitro degradability characteristics of the sorghum stover and supplemental feeds viz., groundnut cake, sesame cake, coconut cake and de-oiled rice bran were studied by Rumen Simulation Technique (RUSITEC). The half time (t1/2) of organic matter and nitrogen for sorghum stover were 27 ± 4 and 34 ± 4 hour, respectively. The respective t1/2 time of organic matter and nitrogen for the commonly fed supplemental feeds viz., coconut cake and de-oiled rice bran were 7 ± 1 and 15 ± 2 and 8 ± 0 and 7 ± 1 hour, respectively. Altering the feeding strategy based on t1/2 value of organic matter and nitrogen sources did not increased the rumen microbial protein yield by in vitro / in vivo experiments. There was comparable microbial nitrogen synthesis per kg metabolic body weight of animal between evolved and farmer’s feeding strategies in sorghum stover based feeding system (0.480 vs. 0.485 g / d). Hence, it was concluded that altering the feeding time based on nutrient degradability in sorghum stover based feeding system did not increased the rumen microbial protein synthesis

Tree leaf meal from fodder trees in silvipasture and their potential to support growth in young ruminants

The study was conducted with the aim of utilizing leaf meal prepared from Leucaena leucocephala and Gliricidia sepium trees from silvipasture model of agroforestry as alternate feeding strategy on partial replacement of feed ingredients in compound feeds of goat kids and buffalo calves. The edible leaf biomass from Leucaena leucocephala and Gliricidia sepium was 9.20 and 18.54 MT/ha/year respectively and their respective crude protein content was 14.81 and 17.66 per cent. Two feeding trials were conducted with Leucaena leucocephala and Gliricidia sepium leaf meal mix (1:1 ratio) incorporated in concentrate feed for goat kids and buffalo calves at 30 per cent inclusion. The average daily gain of goat kids and buffalo calves fed tree leaf meal incorporated concentrate feed was comparable to daily gain of kids / calves fed conventional concentrate feed in 90 days feeding trial. It was concluded that tree leaf meal (Leuceana leucocephala / Gliricidia sepium - 1:1) can be included up to 30% level in concentrate feed of goat kids and buffalo calves without any change in the growth rate but reducing feed cost

Influence of intensive rearing, continuous and rotational grazing systems of management on parasitic load of lambs

Aim: A trial was conducted to assess the influence of parasitic load on the lambs reared under the intensive system, continuous grazing, and rotational grazing systems of management. Materials and Methods: A total of thirty numbers of the undetermined breed of ewe lambs around 4-5 months of age were randomly selected and allotted to three treatment groups: T1 (intensive system - control), T2 (rotational grazing), and T3 (continuous grazing). The T1 group lambs were raised under a stall-fed system of management, the T2 group lambs were grazed under rotational grazing strategy in four paddocks of plot-A, while the T3 group lambs were continuously grazed in plot-B. Results: At the end of the study, there was a highly significant difference (p=0.01) in the fortnightly strongyle egg count per gram (EPG) of feces among the lambs pertaining to the three treatment groups; the lambs in T3 had a higher strongyle EPG compared to T2 lambs. With regard to the overall reduction in EPG from the initial count, lambs under rotational grazing showed the maximum decrease of 54.52% compared to lambs under T3 (continuous grazing). There was a strong positive correlation noticed between the mean temperature of the day at each fortnight and the subsequent EPG at each fortnight with R2=0.87. There was a strong positive correlation noticed between mean FAMACHA® scores and the EPG with R2=0.84, R2=0.83, and R2=0.83 for T1, T2, and T3, respectively. Conclusion: The grazing management with pasture rotation should be considered as a viable option for sustainable parasitic control in case of grazing-dependent livestock husbandry in India

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Not AvailableIndia launched National Agroforestry Policy on 10th February, 2014 which has the potential to substantially reduce poverty in rural India and revive wood based industry, besides integrating food production with environmental services. The policy is not only crucial to India’s ambitious goal of achieving 33 per cent forest and tree cover but also to mitigate GHG emissions from agriculture sector. Dynamic CO2FIXv3.1 model has been used to estimate the carbon sequestration potential (CSP) of existing agroforestry systems (AFS) for simulation period of 30 years in twenty six districts from ten selected states of India. The observed number of trees on farmers’ field in these districts varied from 1.81 to 204 per hectare with an average value of 19.44 trees per hectare. The biomass in the tree component varied from 0.58 to 48.50 Mg DM/ ha, whereas, the total biomass (tree and crop) ranged from 4.96 to 58.96 Mg DM ha-1. The soil organic carbon ranged from 4.28 to 24.13 Mg C / ha. The average estimated carbon sequestration potential of the AFS, representing varying edaphoclimatic conditions, on farmers field at country level was 0.21 Mg C / ha / year. At national level, existing AFS are estimated to mitigate 109.34 million tons CO2Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableIndia launched National Agroforestry Policy on 10th February, 2014 which has the potential to substantially reduce poverty in rural India and revive wood based industry, besides integrating food production with environmental services. The policy is not only crucial to India’s ambitious goal of achieving 33 per cent forest and tree cover but also to mitigate GHG emissions from agriculture sector. Dynamic CO2FIXv3.1 model has been used to estimate the carbon sequestration potential (CSP) of existing agroforestry systems (AFS) for simulation period of 30 years in twenty six districts from ten selected states of India. The observed number of trees on farmers’ field in these districts varied from 1.81 to 204 per hectare with an average value of 19.44 trees per hectare. The biomass in the tree component varied from 0.58 to 48.50 Mg DM ha-1, whereas, the total biomass (tree and crop) ranged from 4.96 to 58.96 Mg DM ha-1. The soil organic carbon ranged from 4.28 to 24.13 Mg C ha-1. The average estimated carbon sequestration potential of the AFS, representing varying edaphoclimatic conditions, on farmers field at country level was 0.21 Mg C ha-1yr-1. At national level, existing AFS are estimated to mitigate 109.34 million tons CO2 annually, which may offsets one-third (33 %) of the total GHG emissions from agriculture sector.Not Availabl