Dr. Akhil Verma, Dr. Nazam Khan
It is very well known fact that livestock production has direct relationship with green fodder availability but as the matter of fact fodder production has remained static while only 4% arable land in J & K is under fodder crops, and there is a deficit of 67% in green fodder and 27.31% in dry fodder. Green fodder is the most economical source of animal diet as the approximate cost of one kg legume green fodder is Rs. 2.0 with average dry matter (DM) 20 %, Crude Protein (CP) 18% and Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) 65%, while approx. cost of one kg cattle feed is Rs. 17.0 with an average DM content- 90 %, CP- 20 % and TDN- 70 %. Availability of crop residues is further declining due to adoption of high yielding dwarf varieties / hybrids and field wastage due to extensive use of grain picker / mechanical harvester in cereal crops. The demand of livestock products like milk and milk products, mutton, fish, poultry etc. has increased quite dramatically in the UT of J& K due to changing socio-economic status nutritional consciousness in the large chunk of population. In order to meet the demand of these products UT has to spend large amount to the tune of 20,000 million (333 million USD) for importing livestock products from neighboring states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat etc.
In Jammu region of UT, fodder is grown in both Kharif (July to October) and Rabi (October to April) seasons. Green fodder in the region is abundant from January to April with berseem and oats available in excess while during July to September green fodder again is in abundance that is obtained from sorghum, maize, bajra, cowpea besides other wild grasses such as Cyanodon dactylon, Paspalum spp., Echinocloa spp., Digiteria sanguinalis etc. But after October up to December the region faces the deficit of green forages due to the fact that the fodders that are grown during the rabi season do not make proper growth to be harvested for feeding to the animals and at the same time the natural grasses also disappear due to very cold temperatures or frost. On the other hand, during May to early July, farmers again face fodder scarcity due to hot summers and low soil moisture availability making it impossible to sow fodders while the forages that are sown by pre-monsoon showers too do not grow to the level of harvesting. In such a scenario dairy farmers, resort to feed dry fodders such as wheat bhoosa/paddy straw or costly concentrates to their livestock. The scarcity of green fodder during lean periods can be mitigated if farmers adhere to some recommended practices such as the fields that are vacated after the harvest of some of rabi crops such as potatoes, mustard etc. or the lands that are kept fallow should be sown with quick growing multiple fodders such as Maize + M.P. Charri/Jowar; Cowpea+ M.P. Charri/ Jowar or Cowpea alone during mid-March at gap of two weeks intervals as staggered sowing.
This will enable green fodder supply from mid-May to mid-July. On the other hand, wheat or any other rabi crop if harvested within 2nd to 3rd week of April then the vacated fields should be sown with Maize+Cowpea; M.P. Charri/Jowar+Cowpea; Bajra+Cowpea or only Cowpea. These combinations will supply green fodder during the months of June and July. Sowing of perennial fodder like Lucerne (alfa-alfa) should be done during first week of October. Being a perennial legume fodder it can provide fodder both during May to August and then again from September to November. Planting of perennial grasses are always helpful and among these the most important are Napier bajra hybrid, Guinea grass etc. Napier can be planted twice in a year from mid to the end of March and also from mid-June to till the end of July, while Guinea grass can be sown mid March to mid May and can be harvested in a short span of 55 days and subsequently 25 to 30 days intervals giving 5 to 7 cuts. This will provide green fodder from May onwards. Mixture of Makcharri (Teosinte)+Cowpea sown in the month of July can supply green fodder till October to November. Crop combinations of Fodder rape+Turnip or Berseem+Fodder rape can be grown during the first fortnight of October that can supply green fodder during scarcity period from November to December. Intercropping and mixed cropping should be included in the cropping system. Another technique is to preserve the forages in the form of hay and silage for future use. Rejuvenation of natural grasslands, pastures/grazing lands can be the most effective strategy to feed the animals with quality forages round the year.
Silage making: Dearth of green forage during lean period from May to mid July and October to December can be alleviated by storing and preserving the fodders in the form of silage. Silage is the method of preserving green fodder where in green herbage/ plant material of fodder is fermented in the absence of air. In this process of fermentation organic acids are produced which preserve the nutrient substances of the forage besides maintaining its succulency. This fermentation is complete within two months. The most striking benefit of silage making is that it is the most effective strategy to mitigate the scarcity of fodder during the lean periods as excess fodder can successfully be conserved into more acceptable, digestible and laxative form than if converted into dry fodders. In this practice fields get vacated earlier and become available for sowing of the succeeding crops. The crops that contain high percentage of carbohydrates are excellent for silage making. There are many crops like like Jowar, Maize, Bajra Oats and Barley which contain high amount of carbohydrates. Among the perennial grasses Hybrid Napier grass, Guinea grass, Para grass, Sudan grass and Rhode grass are good for silage making. Natural grasses such as Doob, Kolu, Katai could very well be converted into silage. Legumes like berseem, lucerne and cowpea are less suitable for silage making. However when mixed with non-legume crops in the right proportion of 50:50, the mixture produces well balanced silage.
The fodder crops should be harvested neither immature nor over mature should have enough dry matter of 30-35%, when they have maximum nutrient content with sufficient sugars and carbohydrates. So that the organic acids i.e., lactic acid is released more. The thumb rule for desired dry matter is to press the chaffed fodder in between the hands. If hands do not get moist, the fodder is ready to be use for ensiling.
There are different structures to produce and store the silage called silos depending on the conditions of soil, water table, economic considerations, quantity of silage required etc.
Grass land/pasture management Grasslands of Jammu province constitute 3.53% of the total geographical area of UT. These vast grasslands are the important natural resources for the sustainability of livestock, which are also the source of main livelihood. Grazing in the grassland costs nothing because of the fact that all the expenses on growing, cutting transporting of forage are eliminated in case of in situ grazing. However, problem of the grasslands in Jammu division is that they have been depleted and at the verge of losing their carrying capacity, due to indiscriminate cutting of grasses, uncontrolled/over grazing, lack of seeding/reseeding, fertilization, besides no inclusion of legume components like clovers vis-a-vis increasing infestation of noxious weeds. Due to these reasons the vegetative cover is being reduced and it has encouraged the soil erosion which has resulted more to the problem. The following practices are suggested for reviving these depleted grasslands.
Practices like formation of enclosures, rotational grazing/stall feeding, increasing the fertility of grasslands, weeding and reseeding with suitable palatable grasses and legumes like clovers can make our pasture lands more productive for livestock rearing.
A steady supply of forages for livestock can be ensured by growing perennial fodder trees like Subabool (Leucaena leucocephala), Glyciridia, Bahunia, Albizia spp etc. besides raising perennial fodder grasses such as Napier Hybrid, Guinea grass etc. along with perennial legumes such as Lucerne. Farmer should always choose dual purpose cereals such as Jowar, Wheat, Barley, Oats that can provide fodder without sacrificing food crops. Crops and varieties that have stay green characteristics even after harvesting of grains should be selected eg. Vivek Maize Hybrid 45 is an early maturing (85-90 days) and high yielding (50-55 q per hectare) variety of maize, it has the ‘stay-green trait’ which makes the plant suitable for use as green fodder after harvesting of the mature cobs. Baby corn is another option as it can be grown year round and provides quality fodder after detasseling, dehusking/peeling of immature cobs especially to milch cattle as it has lactogenic properties, the stover obtained after the harvest baby corn remain green can be fed to the dairy animals. Feeding the livestock with crop by-products such as paddy straw, wheat straw, maize stover, pea leaves is another way out.
Bringing more fodder area under irrigation. This is the most potent and indispensable means for supply of green fodder round the year. Crop planning can only be carried out successfully only if irrigation facility is there.
Establishment of fodder banks. Preserving fodders as silage and hay Conversion of fodder into feed blocks. Developing system for Hydroponic fodders and Azolla cultivation are alternative means to ensure quality fodder in sufficient quantity.
Agro-forestry based forage system should be followed (Grass or leguminous cover crops in tree plantations). Promote legume integration in mixed crop livestock farming system. Legume fodder seeds should always be treated with suitable Rhizobium culture for higher yields. Converting barren or degraded lands into pasture/grasslands.
(The Authors are Assoc. Professor(Agronomy) and Asstt. Professor (Animal Nutrition) at SKUAST J)
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