Feed Resources and their Development for Raising Buffaloes in Arid Regions of India

Abstract

India possesses about 2.27 % of the World’s 13062 million hectares of total land area. About 10 % of the total land area of the country is arid and 30 % semi-arid. The arid zone is mostly confined to the States of Rajasthan and Gujarat while the semi-arid zone is spread over the States of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. Rajasthan has the maximum (73.60%) of the total arid and semi-arid area followed by Gujarat (29.50 %) and Andhra Pradesh (21.50 %). The annual rainfall in the arid region varies from 10 to 40 cm, quite often erratic, so much so that the entire rainfall of the year may fall on a single day and rest of the year may go dry. The summer temperatures may be as high as 490 C during day and fall to less than 200 C during night. In winters, the day temperatures are higher but the night temperatures may be near freezing point. The buffalo population that had been 22 % in 1951 is now more than 30 % of the total bovine population. Rajasthan state with 53.17 million has about 11.50 % of the country’s total livestock population. This includes about 12.16 million cattle, 9.76 million buffaloes, 14.31 million sheep and 16.94 million goats.  The total land area of the country is around 304 million hectares. Of the total area, about 22.5 % is under forest cover, 3.6 % is under permanent pasture, 1.2 % is under tree crops and groves, 6.2 5 % is barren and uncultivable land, 4.5 % is under waste lands and 8.0 % is under fallow lands. Buffaloes in arid and semi-arid areas are reared under three main feeding management systems, extensive, semi-intensive and intensive. The advance pregnant buffaloes are supplemented with green fodder of Lucerne, Barseem, and/or Oats during winter season, while green Sorghum or Pearl millet during summer. In rainy season, the advance pregnant buffaloes are fed with ad libitum green fodder. The areas in arid and semi‑arid regions that cannot support crop production may be identified, developed through reseeding with perennial grasses and legumes and plantation of fodder trees and utilized for buffalo production with low investment.