Comparison of Fodder Species with or without Nutrient Supplementation for Paddy Straw-based Dairy Cattle Production in Hills of Nepal

Abstract

Productivity of crossbred dairy cattle in the milk production pockets of Nepali hills are considerably low due to their severe undernourishment in the paddy straw-based feeding regimes. An experiment was carried out at on-farm of Tanahun district in order to compare popular fodders (Ficus semicordata cv. Montana S.M. Amatya and Pennisetum purpureum K. Schumach. cv Mott) with and without nutrient supplementation via the urea-molasses-mineral block (UMMB) for milk yield, milk fat content and lactometer reading. The experiment was conducted in a 2×2 factorial arrangement of Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 10 replications. The milking cattle of Jersey crossbred from third to fifth parities with similar milk yields and stages of lactation were taken as the experimental animals. The results of the study showed that Rai khanayo (F. semicordata) fodder performed better (p<0.01) than Napier (P. purpureum) for milk yield, milk fat content, and lactometer reading. Likely, significantly enhanced (p<0.05) milk yield with better fat content and lactometer reading were obtained for the UMMB supplemented group. Feeding 10 kg of F. semicordata fodder with 300 g of UMMB supplementation, 10 kg of rice straw and 2 kg of wheat bran as the daily ration improved the milk yield, milk fat content, and lactometer reading considerably (p<0.05) than other treatment combinations in the farmers’ field. These simple and practical technologies can rigorously be used for the substantial improvement of the milk yield and its constituents of crossbred dairy cattle, and also for their health in the hills of Nepal.