Constraints in adoption of scientific recommendations in feeding of dairy animals in Nagpur District.

摘要

This study was conducted to analyse the constraints in the adoption of scientific recommendations in feeding of dairy animals in Nagpur district. 135 livestock owners were selected from the Nagpur district, Maharashtra State, based on land holding (landless, marginal, small, medium and large). Data were collected through a pre-tested questionnaire. The scientific recommendations analysed and the proportions of farmers employing these were the following: feeding of balanced ration at regular interval (14.07%); processing of roughages and concentrate before feeding (59.25%); enrichment of poor quality straw by urea and ammonization (0%); chaffing of green and dry fodder manually and by machinery (67.40 and 11.85%); feeding of leguminous and non-leguminous green fodder/straw in mixture (64.44%); feeding of green fodder to reduce the cost of milk production (40.0%); feeding of dry matter at 2-2.5 kg/100 kg body weight of animals (45.92%); feeding of grass cut at flowering stage (16.29%); feeding of silage in summer in absence of green (0%); use of tree leaves in scarcity period (17.03%); inclusion of unconventional roughages and concentrates to reduce the feed cost (8.88%); feeding of concentrate at 40% of milk production (37.03%); feeding of concentrate at 1-1.5 kg to pregnant animals (36.29%); use of 60 g common salt (46.66%); use of mineral mixture (0%); use of mineral lick (5.18%); and grazing of animals for economical rearing (90.37%). The most serious constraints perceived by livestock owners were financial (mean value of 95.5 and coefficient of variation of 18.66), followed by situational, technical, organizational and infrastructure and personal constraints. The intensity of constraints was very high in marginal farmers, followed by small, landless, medium and large farmers. The adoption of scientific recommendations in feeding of dairy animals was meagre, and major constraints faced by dairy farmers were financial.