Mineral status of soil, feed, fodder and blood plasma of animals in northern dry and northern transition zones of Karnataka

摘要

A study was conducted to estimate the micronutrient content, viz. Calcium (Ca), Phosphorus (P), Magnesium (Mg), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn) and Iron (Fe) content in soil, water, feed, fodder and blood plasma of animals in northern dry and northern transition zones of Karnataka. The phosphorus content in soil in Northern dry zone (30.30 ppm) and Northern transition zone (34.33 ppm) were found to be well below the critical level (45 to 130 ppm). The calcium (0.47 percent), copper (4.17 ppm) and zinc (11.27 ppm) content in soil in northern transition zone were found to be higher than in the northern dry zone and were well above the critical levels in both the zones. Paddy straw (12.59 percent) in northern dry zone and local grasses (8 to 9 percent) in both the zones showed high silica content. Top feed like subabul leaves in northern transition zone was found to be good source of calcium (1.54 percent), copper (79.32 mg/kg), zinc (361 mg/kg) and iron (1373 mg/kg). Concentrate supplements like brans and cakes had high content of phosphorus (0.77 to 1.10 percent), zinc (54 to 66 mg/kg) and iron (1362 to 2267 mg/kg) in both the zones. The average blood plasma levels of calcium (5.67 mg percent), phosphorus (3.86 mg percent), copper (0.59 ppm) and zinc (0.54 ppm) were found to be lower than the normal values in northern dry zone. In the northern transition zone calcium (6.26 mg percent) and zinc (0.56 ppm) were found to be deficient in blood plasma. Supplementing the deficient micronutrients with locally available feed resources like green fodders, tree leaves, cakes and brans which are good sources of these minerals or providing region specific mineral supplements would alleviate the deficiency in these zones.