R. S. DHILLON*, R. S. BENIWAL, SATPAL, M. JATTAN AND SUSHIL KUMARI
Department of Forestry, Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding (Forage Section)
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding,
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004 (Haryana), India
*(e-mail : rsdhillon67@gmail.com)
(Received : 01 May 2023; Accepted : 27 May 2023)
SUMMARY
The sustainable supply of adequate and nutritious feed and fodder is essential for the development of livestock sector. The area under fodder production is continually reducing indicating high pressure for cash crops production. The estimated fodder scarcity in India by 2050 reveals a net deficit of 35.6 % green fodder and 10.9 % dry crop residue, which calls for development and adoption
of land use based interventions. Though, quality fodder availability in India is low due to low or non availability of suitable varietal wealth, more emphasis on food grain and cash crops. The area under fodder production is continually reducing indicating high pressure for cash crops production. There is a dire need felt to explore new feed resources. Fodder tree leaves may supplement the existing feed resources for small as well as large ruminant and can help to bridge the wider gap between demand and supply of nutrients. Tree leaves may become a rich source of supplementary protein, vitamins and minerals and their use in ruminant to enhance microbial growth and digestion. Thus, fodder trees pave the way for forage security besides their role in climate change mitigation and societal well being. The objective of this review is to explore the potentials of using fodder trees and shrub as a feed resource for livestock feeding and nutritional security especially in drylands.
Key words: Fodder tree, livestock, nutritional value, sustainable, drylands