Quality Fodder from Fruit Trees for Sustainable Forage Production in Semi-Arid Tropics

Quality Fodder from Fruit Trees for Sustainable Forage Production in Semi-Arid Tropics

India being at the crux of exploding livestock population in the world, needs to reorient agroforestry potential by inducing the fruit trees based hortipastoral systems to minimize the existing gap between fodder supply and demand from arable farming system. It is realized that in some part of the country probably more animals are depending on shrubs and trees than on grass and legume based pastures. At this juncture of main farm resource limitations, the community can exploit fruit trees to a considerable extent for fodder along with the supplementary benefit from fresh and/or processed fruits. Interestingly, the leaves which usually obtained from such trees are more nutritious than the trees used for fodder, fuel, and timber. The tannins which are considered as anti quality factor above the level of 5% is also found under control in fruit trees except few. These trees can also be used as dry and/or lean period fodder resources.