Trees as a source of fodder for goats in arid and semi-arid regions of India

Abstract

Fodder trees have good potential for supplying the quality fodder with good amount of crude protein for goats throughout the year. Tree leaves serve as a concentrate to sheep and goats reared by poor farmers at very low cost or on zero input. In case of no browsing, lopping provided by the farmer forms a good fodder source for goats. Production of cultivated green fodder is a time bound operation due to seasonality of fodder crops, availability of irrigation water, timely availability of good quality seed and other inputs, etc. Further, in the month of December to June when grasses are either grazed away or become dry with poor palatability and digestibility, tree fodder serves as a potential source of feed. Therefore, in the situation when no cultivated green fodder is available fodder trees provide a good quality fodder for the growth and maintenance of goats.