ABSTRACT
A study was conducted to investigate the availability of nutrients from Indian rangelands in livestock.
In nutritional studies with adult male sheep maintained exclusively under range conditions for a period of about six months (September to February), it was observed that the composite sample of range herbage contained 13.18% Crude Protein (CP) in the month of October, and CP was reduced to 8.03 % in February. The Dry Matter (DM) consumption per 100 kg live weighting sheep ranged from 3.39 to 3.89 kg during different months. The Digestible Crude Protein (DCP) intake per head per day during the month of October was 0.097 kg which was reduced by 50% (i.e. 0.05 kg) in the month of February, whereas, the intake of Total Digestibility Nutrient (TDN) was found almost the same. The average live weight gain of sheep during the first 3 months, when good pasture grazing was available, was 1.07 kg/fortnight. The rate of live weight gain was reduced to 0.43 kg/head per fortnight during the last 3 months when condition of pasture was deteriorated.
The Jamunapari goats were found to produce 1–1.5 1 of milk when maintained exclusively on range harvest with CP ranging from 12.2% in March to 17.3% in July in their home tract Ehakkar Najar, V.P. The nutrients intake of dry goats maintained soley on rangelands in this area was found to be 3.0 kg DM, 0.19 kg DCP and 1.30 kg TDN per 100 kg live weight.
Some of the top feed available in rangelands in this area, having 15% CP such as Heens (Capparis horrida), Hingota (Balanites aegyptica) and Vilayati babul (Prosopis juliflora), were found palatable to goats. The goats fed exclusively on Heens plant, consumed 2.68 ± 1.02 kg DM daily per 100 kg live weight. This plant contained 11.54% DCP and 48.17% TDN.218
