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Photo 1. Local cattle used in the village study |
| Livestock Research for Rural Development 26 (4) 2014 | Guide for preparation of papers | LRRD Newsletter | Citation of this paper |
A survey was conducted in 22 different villages and 18 indigenous cattle were selected for the study. They were randomly divided into three groups: Ctl (control) as per farmers’ practice; MOC a supplement containing oilseed cake; and AZ a supplement with azolla meal replacing mustard oilseed cake.
DM intake during the experiment decreased in the control animals and increased in those fed supplements containing mustard oil cake and Azolla. At the end of the experiment the body weight and milk yield were higher in cattle fed the supplements with mustard oil cake and Azolla compared with the control treatment.
Key words: feed intake, live weight, protein supplements, water plants
Livestock production is the backbone of the Indian economy and has been a source of employment in rural areas for centuries. Ruminants play a major role in providing nutritional and livelihood security for millions of rural households in India. As per the 18th livestock census (2007), India with 190 million cattle ranks 2nd in the world cattle population. The ratio of rural to urban cattle in India is 19:1 (18th livestock census, 2007). Among many factors governing the livestock productivity, feeding accounts for more than 60-70% of the total recurring cost and hence qualitative and quantitative improvement in this aspect will usually improve productivity.
Traditional supplements based on oilseed cakes are expensive. One alternative is the plant “Azolla (Azolla filiculoides Lam" which floats on the surface of water by means of numerous, small, closely overlapping scale-like leaves, with their roots hanging in the water. They form a symbiotic relationship with the cyanobacterium Anabaena azollae, which fixes atmospheric nitrogen. , giving the plant access to this essential nutrient (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azolla). Azolla has been used successfully as a protein supplement to replace soybean meal in diets for growing pigs fed sugar cane juice as the source of energy (Becerra et al 1990). According to Ambade et al (2010), milk yield was increased by 15 to 20% after feeding azolla in the diet of dairy cows.
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the use of sun-dried Azolla meal as replacement for mustard cake in the diet of indigenous cattle in rural India.
The study was conducted in Ghana village, Bargi Block of Jabalpur, M.P. state of India. A survey was done to assess the feeding and health status of animals in the village. Eighteen cattle (local indigenous breed; Photo 1) were selected for the study. The standard management practice was grazing for 8-10 hours. The cows were hand-milked twice daily. Daily milk yield of each animal was recorded for a period of 6 months. The body weight of the animals was calculated twice (before and at the end of the experiment) from hearth girth measurements and Shaffer’s formula (Sastry et al 1982). Feed samples collected during the survey were analyzed for proximate principles as per the standard procedure of AOAC (1995).
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Photo 1. Local cattle used in the village study |
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Table 1. Details of different treatments in the study |
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CTL |
As per farmers’ practice |
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MOC |
Deficiency of nutrients was fulfilled by providing a supplement of mustard oil cake. |
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AZ |
Deficiency of nutrients was fulfilled by providing dried azolla meal |
Feed intake was recorded daily by weighing feed offered and left over. Intake of grasses through grazing was estimated using the formula proposed by Coleman (2005).
Intake (g/d) = IB * RB * FT (IB: Intake per bite, RB: Rate of biting, FT: Feeding time)
IB and RB were assumed while FT was observed.
Azolla was cultivated in artificial ponds. Dimensions were: 2.13*2.44m. The depth was 10cm. A layer of plastic film was spread over the base and sides of the pond to prevent filtration. The size of the sheet was 0.5m longer and wider than the pond and was secured by a layer of mud at the edges (Photo 2).
About 8 kg of sieved fertile soil was uniformly spread over the plastic sheet. Slurry made of 4 kg cow dung and 40 g of super phosphate in 10 liters of water was poured into the pond. Then more water was poured into the pond to provide water depth of about 10 cm. About 1.0 kg of a fresh and pure culture of Azolla was inoculated in the pond. Growth was rapid (environmental temperature ranged within 30 to 35 0C) and by 7-8 days the Azolla had covered the pond area.. Azolla was analyzed for its proximate composition (Table 2).
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| Photo 2. Artificial pond used for cultivation of Azolla |
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Table 2. Proximate composition of the Azolla (DM basis) |
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Composition (%) |
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Crude protein |
23.2 |
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Ether extract |
3.30 |
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Crude fiber |
13.6 |
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Ash |
17.9 |
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NFE |
41.9 |
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Gross energy, kcal/g |
2.99 |
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Table 3. Composition of the supplements |
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Ingredients |
MOC |
AZ |
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Wheat bran |
57.3 |
57.8 |
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Mustard oilseed cake |
16.4 |
- |
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Dried azolla |
- |
18.8 |
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Urea |
3.3 |
2.90 |
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Maize |
21.3 |
18.8 |
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Mineral mixture |
1.7 |
1.7 |
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Total |
100.00 |
100.00 |
The MOC supplement was given at 600g/d/animal while the AZ supplement was given at 700g/d/animal for the whole period of study.
The feeds used (Table 4) were: wheat straw, grass (Cynodon dactylon), pigeon peanut husks (agro-industrial byproduct of Cajanus cajan), wheat bran, gram husk (Cicer arietinum) and mustard oilseed cake (left over from seed of Brassica campestris after oil extraction).
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Table 4. Mean values (kg±SE) for daily feed intake and body weight before the start of experiment |
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CTL |
MOC |
AZ |
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Body weight |
148±3.63 |
138±6.84 |
142±9.41 |
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Wheat straw |
2.45±0.34 |
1.33±0.49 |
2.36±0.30 |
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Grass* |
3.33±2.10 |
6.66±2.10 |
1.66±1.66 |
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Pigeon pea by-product** |
0.07±0.06 |
0.10±0.07 |
0.36±0.14 |
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Wheat bran |
0.07±0.06 |
0.07±0.06 |
0.20±0.08 |
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Gram husk*** |
0.01±0.01 |
0.01±0.01 |
0.05±0.02 |
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Mustard oilseed cake |
0.01±0.01 |
0.01±0.01 |
0.05±0.02 |
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* Cynodon dactylon , **Cajanus cajan,*** Cicer arietinum) |
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Table 5. Mean values (kg±SE) for daily feed intake after supplementation |
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CTL |
MOC |
AZ |
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DMI |
2.89±0.09 |
3.15±0.13 |
3.26±0.12 |
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Wheat straw |
1.87±0.35 |
1.63±0.41 |
2.07±0.42 |
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Grass* |
5.00±2.23 |
5.00±2.23 |
1.67±1.66 |
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Pigeon pea byproduct** |
0.07±0.06 |
0.07±0.06 |
0.23±0.08 |
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Wheat bran |
0.15±0.09 |
0.07±0.06 |
0.20±0.08 |
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Gram husk*** |
0.02±0.02 |
0.02±0.02 |
0.05±0.02 |
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Supplement |
- |
0.60±0.00 |
0.70±0.00 |
Feed intake, live weight change and milk production
DM intake decreased in the control animals and increased in those fed supplements containing mustard oil cake and azolla (Table 6). At the end of the experiment the body weight and milk yield were higher in cattle fed the supplements with mustard oil cake and azolla compared with the control treatment.
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Table 6. Mean values for dry matter intake, live weight and milk yield before and at the end of the experiment of cows supplemented with mustard oil cake (MOC) or azolla meal |
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Control |
MOC |
Azolla |
SEM |
p |
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DM intake, kg/d |
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Beginning |
3.06 |
3.02 |
2.72 |
0.19 |
0.42 |
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End# |
2.85a |
3.24b |
3.20b |
0.089 |
0.014 |
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Body weight, kg |
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Beginning |
148 |
138 |
142 |
7.20 |
0.58 |
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End# |
141a |
151b |
151b |
1.01 |
<0.001 |
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Milk yield, kg/d |
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Beginning |
1.78 |
1.42 |
1.37 |
0.35 |
0.42 |
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End# |
0.69a |
1.41b |
1.46b |
0.08 |
<0.001 |
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# Corrected by covariance for values recorded at the start of the experiment
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Ambade R B, Jadhav S N and Phalke N B 2010 Impact of azolla as a protein supplement and its Influence on feed utilization in livestock. Livestock line 4(4): 21-23.
Becerra M, Murgueitio E, Reyes G and Preston T R 1990 Azolla filiculoides as partial replacement for traditional protein supplements in diets for growing-fattening pigs based on sugar cane juice. Livestock Research Rural Development, 2:1-6.
Coleman S W 2005 Predicting forage intake by grazing ruminants. In: Proc. Florida Ruminant Nutrition Symposium held in Florida state university from 2 nd to 8th Dec., 2005. 72-90.
Sastry N S R, Thomas C K and Singh R A 1982 Farm Animal Management and Poultry Production, 5th edn. Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi. Pp 49.
18th Livestock census 2007 Prasasnik Prativedan 2009-2010. Department of Animal Husbandry. Govt of Madhya Pradesh. pp 46-47.
Received 24 July 2013; Accepted 22 February 2014; Published 5 April 2014