Boerhavia diffusa (punarnava): A non-conventional feed resource for Indian goats in semi-arid ravines of Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Goat augments small and marginal farmer’s income by providing livelihood support to landless and economically weaker section of the society. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the suitability of B. diffusa L. as green fodder for goats under ravenous soil condition. Twelve male Barbari goats were randomly divided into two groups. In one group, B. diffusa was offered alone as green fodder and in second group, B. diffusa along with 200g chickpea straw was offered for a period of 21 days. The dry matter content in fresh B. diffusa biomass was only 10.07 percent. A metabolism trial was conducted using metabolic cages. Significant (P<0.001) difference was observed between two treatment groups in DMI, live body weight and CPI. However, DCP%, CP, NDF, EE digestibility were statistically similar between both the groups. TDN % was 49.61 with sole feeding of B. diffusa (P<0.05). Mineral balances for Ca, K and N were recorded higher (P<0.001) with chickpea straw + B. diffusa fed group. Rumen fermentation and haematological parameters remain unchanged for both the groups. Study indicates that B. diffusa can be used as non-conventional feed resource with adequate supplementation of chickpea straw.