Published Oct 19, 2023
Green fodder is an economical source of nutrients for the dairy animals. It is highly palatable and digestible. Micro-organisms present in green fodder help in improving digestion.
Maize produces rich and nutritious green fodder, a good carbohydrate source. The green fodder is particularly suitable for silage-making and contains 8-10% protein.
Fodder is from grasses and shrubs that grow abundantly on the rangeland and roadsides during the monsoon season. Most of these reach their flowering stage during August-September.
Cowpea is used as fodder crop for green feeding, haymaking, grazing and also for ensiling in mixtures with sorghum or maize. The grains are used as human food and as animal feed.
Guinea grass, a tall perennial grass, is a native of tropical and sub-tropical Africa. It is considered to be the most valuable fodder plant. It has a high leaf-stem ratio.
A hybrid Napier to take care of balanced nutrition to dairy animals can be grown with rainwater harvested from the rooftop and grown as sole fodder and mixed fodder.