ABSTRACT
Crops and livestock are the two main components of the mixed farming system in agriculture, and they inuence agricultural economics and allow sustainability. India has the largest livestock holding in the world, presenting livestock inventories exceeding 529 million heads. Analysis of global trends in animal production indicates that meat and milk consumption will grow at 2.8% and 3.3% per annum, respectively, in developing countries (Anonymous, 2009). With the improving per capita income of the country, the demand for livestock products in India is expected to increase by 3% per annum. This means that we require improved breeds of animals and sufcient high-quality fodder with which to feed them. This also indicates increased pressure on the available land, most of which is currently used for food production. Therefore, future food and forage production will increasingly be affected by competition for natural resources, particularly land and water. Forages are the foundation upon which good dairy nutritional programs are built. The digestibility and intake of forage by livestock directly affect their meat and milk production as well as their rumen function and health. Thus, forages indirectly make a signicant contribution to food security by providing the feed requirements of ruminants for meat and milk production (Kumar, 2011). Though information on the availability of forages varies widely, it has been estimated that in India there is a net decit of 61% in green fodder, 22% in dry fodder, and 64% in feeds for animal production (Anonymous, 2009). Meeting the increasing demands will require increased productivity
CONTENTS
16.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 523 16.2 Forage Crop Genomics ...................................................................................................... 525 16.3 Transcriptomics in Forage Crops ..................................................................................... 528 16.4 Proteomics of Forages ....................................................................................................... 529 16.5 Metabolomics Studies in Forages ....................................................................................530 16.6 Applications of Transgenomics in Forages .................................................................... 532
16.6.1 Deregulation of “Roundup Ready” Alfalfa: A Case Study .............................534 16.7 Epigenomics of Forage Plants .......................................................................................... 536 16.8 Scientic Challenges in Forage Crop Omics .................................................................. 539 16.9 Conclusions .........................................................................................................................540 References .....................................................................................................................................540
