INTRODUCTION

Dairy cattle rearing is an important subsidiary occupation for the farmers of Goa. Milk production and profit in dairy farming depends upon feeding and management practices. During the recent years, prices of various feed ingredients like groundnut cake, wheat bran, maize etc., have increased which is a major constraint for profitable milk production. Feeding natural grasses and green fodder will help to reduce the expenditure on concentrate feeding. Quality of green fodder and hay can be further improved through enrichment and preservation techniques.

IMPORTANCE OF GREEN FODDER

Green grass is agood source of vitamin A which is present in the form of carotene. One kg of green grass provides 50mg of vitamin A. This vitamin is necessary to maintain the health and reproduce status of the animal. Grasses are also good source of protein. One kg of green fodder gives 15 to 20g protein to the animal. Cowpea, beans, subabul leaves etc. give 30 to 40g of protein.

SOURCES OF GREEN FODDER

There is about one lakh hectares of forest land in Goa with plenty of karad grass. This grass can be cut and preserved for feeding cows. The karad grass contains only 4% protein.

High rainfall and fertile soil in Goa is suitable for growing hybrid fodder grasses. NB21 and Gajraj are the most suitable fodder grasses. These grasses contain 8 to 10% protein. About 75 tons of green fodder can be harvested from one hectare of land every year. These grasses can withstand water scarcity during summer months.

After the monsoon (during October- November), plenty of green fodder is available. This can be preserved as silage for feeding in summer months.

PRESERVATION OF GREEN FODDER

Green fodder can be preserved as silage stored for long period (upto 6months). During the monsoon, plenty of green grass is available in Goa. Most commonly, it is cut as dry grass and stored for feeding livestock in summer. If it is cut at the early flowering stage and preserved as silage, the grass will be more nutritious. Some of the advantages of ensiling green grass are given below:

When green grass is dried in the sun, vitamin A is lost. But it is preserved when ensiled.
Animals prefer soft green fodder than dry grass and ensiling keeps the grass soft.
When the grass is over matured with stems, it ois rejected by animals. If the green grass is cut into small bits and preserved as silage, it becomes soft and is eaten by the animals. This helps to avoid wastage of grass.
Storage of dry fodder requires more space. Large amount of green grass can be stored in a small silo pits of one cubic meter.

HOW TO PRESERVE SILAGE

Cut the grass at the early flowering stage.
Dry the grass in the field for about 4 to 5 hours.
Cut into small bits of 10 to 15cm length with a chaff cutter or a knife.
Prepare molasses solution in a bucket by dissolving five kg molasses in 20 litres of water.
Dissolve one kg salt in five litres of water.
Make a circular pit in an elevated area away from water source. The size of the pit should be atleast one meter in depth and one meter in diameter. Every one cubic meter of pit can hold 600 kg of green grass.
Cover the bottom and sides of the pit with dry leaves or straw
Fill the pit with grass for about one foot height and press it well.
Sprinkle molasses over it.
Add another one foot layer of grass.
Sprinkle salt solution with the help of a rose can.
Repeat the filling in the same way till the entire pit is filled.\
Press the grass well to remove any air space inside.
On the top, cover the grass with a layer of dry leaves.
Cover the pit with mud for about one foot height to protect the pit from air and water.
Care should be taken to protect the pit from rain water. To protect the pit from rain, the top portion should be covered with polythene sheet or tarpaulin.
Silage will be ready after two months.
Pit can be opened even after four months.

If silage is prepared in November, it can be taken out in Feb / March (summer) to feed the animals. Feeding siliage helps to reduce concentrate feeding and to maintain the health of the animals.

ENRICHMENT OF LOCAL GRASSES

The karad grass is a poor source of protein. It has only 4 percent protein. Out of one kg grass fed to animal only 400 kg will be digested. However, since the karad grass is commonly used for feeding animals, it can be utilized in a better way by adopting the following enrichment methods:

METHOD OF PREPARING UREA TREATED KARAD GRASS

a) Dissolve 3 kg urea in 100 litres of water.

b) Spread the karad hay on the floor.

c) Sprinkle urea solution with rose water can.

d) Fill the treated karad hay in a silo pit or heap it hay.

e) Stock, cover the pit with a polytene sheet and make it air tight.

f) Open the pit after 28 days.

g) Feed the treated hay to animals

This treatment increases the digestion of the karad hay. Dry (not in milk) animals and those giving 3 to 5 liters milk can be fed with karad hay. There is no need to give concentrate feed. High yielding animals are to be given extra concentrate feed in addition to 4 kg karad hay per day.

UREA MOLASSES TREATMENT OF KARAD GRASS

1. Dissolve 10 kg molasses and one kg urea in 100 litres of water.

2. Sprinkle the solution over the grass uniformly.

3. Keep the karad hay for one or two days.

4. The dry karad hay can be fed to animals. Cows giving milk upto five litres per day can be given the karad hay.

5. Give additional concentrate feed to high yielding cows.

The following concentrate feed can be given along with grass or hay fodder.

Cotton seed cake	30 parts
Wheat bran	45 parts
Maize	10 parts
Rice bran	13 parts
Mineral mix	02 parts

Green fodder can also be mixed with paddy straw in 3:1 ratio and ensiled. Other waste materials like brewery grain waste, poultry manure, sugarcane leaves, etc., can also be mixed with silage. Three parts green grass and one part of other waste materials can be mixed thoroughly and ensiled. By adopting these methods, green fodder can be utilized in a better way. This will improve the health of the animal and increase its milk production. Besides, the farmer can reduce the cost of feeding the animals