मोरिंगा: पशुओं में गर्मी के तनाव की स्थिति को रोकने के लिए पूरक आहार
The average air temperatures of the Earth’s surface increased over some previous centuries which is designated as Global warming. According to the IPCC (2013), the increment in average global surface temperature of about 0.9 °C/1.5 °F from 1880 to 2012.
Some studies also suggested that temperature is expected to enhance 2.3°C to 4.8°C in India by the completion of the 21st centenary which is a big threat to the sustainability of animal production. Due to this climate change, there is a huge loss of lives and the economy of various countries. Accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere leads to the warming of the earth.
There is a prediction that there will be an increase in temperature by 1.5°C to 2°C in the future may cause a loss of 20 to 30% of the plant and animal population. So that to grow in future challenging climates, plant, and animal species require altering their behavior and distribution patterns and getting acclimatized to that challenging climate.
Feed availability during scarcity period
Currently agricultural land is facing the problem of degradation and, therefore, decreased yields. Current land-use data shows that 75.5% of the world’s available land area is already being used for agricultural production. The remaining 24.5% is either of very low productivity or comprises areas of high conservation value. The lack of additionally available farmland has resulted in slowing growth in food production yields on a worldwide scale.
There is a significant gap between the requirement and availability of feeds. Fodder crops are the main and cheapest source of roughage feed for livestock. However, a shortage of quality fodder, particularly during lean periods is the major factor contributing to lower livestock productivity. A deficit of 25% of dry roughages and 65% of green forage is predictable for livestock by 2025 in our nation.
Currently, the country faces a net deficit of 35.6% green fodder, 10.95% dry fodder, and 44% concentrate feed ingredients. The demand for green and dry fodder will reach 1012 and 631 million tonnes by 2050 so there is a necessity to search for newer cheap feed sources of protein with balanced amino acid profiles that can be indemnified for the loss of production in the animal due to heatstroke in the warm season.
In the tropical and subtropical zones, the availability of green forages is limited during the summer and is also more lignified with deficient protein and other nutrient content. Tree fodders could be a good option to meet the fodder demand of livestock in areas having a perennial shortage of green fodder.
Research efforts have confirmed the potentiality of browsing plants to provide an alternate source of nutrition for ruminants in the tropics.
Moringa tree in our country
India is a tropical country, there is a scarcity of feed that occurs during adverse climatic conditions i.e., extreme cold, and extremely hot. So, in this condition, there is the requirement for fine quality forage that can fulfill their nutrient demand.
Moringa oleifera is belonging Moringaceae, a perennial leafy tree, and is native to the Himalayas, which produces high biomass (6 tons/ha/year) and is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas over the world. It tolerates a wide range of soil conditions and pH (5 to 9) with a wide range of rainfall from 250-3000 mm. Moringa is a sun and heat-loving plant and does not tolerate freezing or frost.
Moringa is particularly suitable for dry regions, as it can be grown using rainwater without expensive irrigation techniques. The climatic condition of India is very suitable for the moringa so our nation is the biggest producer of moringa and the average yield of moringa is 18 to 20 tonnes of pods per acre per year.
Nutritional Profile
The higher quantity of protein, antioxidants, and several nutrients of moringa are drawing attention towards incorporation into the feed of animals. Moringa oleifera foliage has a higher crude protein ranging from 23 to 30 percent of DM which is almost similar to that of sesame meal.
Moringa foliage could function as a cheap and economic alternate source of antioxidants and immunomodulators because it is plenty in antioxidants, B complex, the vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin E together with flavonoids and phenols. Moringa is also known for its miracle nutrition properties and provides 7 folds higher vitamin C than oranges, 10 folds higher vitamin A than carrots, 25 folds higher iron than spinach, 17 folds higher calcium than milk, 15 folds higher potassium than bananas, and 9 folds higher protein than yogurt.
Macronutrients like P, K, Ca, and Mg play key roles in balancing the physiological, metabolic, and biochemical processes of livestock. Cattle suffer from low blood Mg during lactation, which causes low milk yield due to deficiency of mg.
Moringa leaves contain a high amount of macronutrients Mg and K and can be effectively used to fulfill the dietary and nutritional requirements of livestock animals by mixing moringa leaves with other fodders or grasses.
Availability of moringa
Moringa (Moringa oleifera) is a multipurpose tree cultivated for food, medicinal, industrial and fodder purpose. It is popularly known as drumstick, sahjan, sujna, senjan and munga, horse reddish tree, saragavo, sevaga, etc. Moringa when cultivated as a fodder crop has a great potential to provide ‘round the year’ high-quality green fodder for 4 to 5 years from a piece of land. It requires less water so can easily grow in tropical areas.
It is easily available as a shrub tree on roadsides and banks of the fields. Moringa is grown in home gardens and as living fences in South Asia and Southeast Asia, where it is commonly sold in local markets.
In the Philippines and Indonesia, it is commonly grown for its leaves, which are used as food. During the summer season, there is a scarcity of green fodder for the animals so at this time moringa leaves are the cheapest and most nutritious alternative to green fodder.
Incorporation of moringa into feed
Moringa leaves can be incorporated as green fodder into animal feed by chaffing into small pieces of 2-3 cm size through a manual or power chaff cutter. 10-15 kg chaffed green fodder of moringa can be fed daily to one animal after mixing it with dry or other cereal green fodder in a 3:1 ratio. It can also be dried in sunlight and chopped for storage as hay (dry fodder) for the lean period. These dried moringa leaves can be fed to ruminants by replacing 10 to 20% dry matter. Livestock owners can also replace 10% roughages and 10% concentrate and add 20% moringa leaf to their diet. Avoid sudden changes in diet.
Advantages of moringa for livestock animals and human
Moringa is beneficial for livestock being rich in phytosterols like stigmasterol, sitosterol, and kampesterol which are precursors for hormones. These compounds increase estrogen production, which in turn stimulates the proliferation of the mammary gland ducts to produce milk.
Moringa diet had the highest efficiency of protein utilization, nutrient digestibility, and nitrogen utilization so it shows a positive effect on feeding behavior, increased growth rate, and increased milk yield in ruminants this improvement is seen in milk yield and quality by altering fermentation patterns in the rumen. It is also designated as drought tolerant and a source of perennial fodder which is rich in nutrients like crude protein, minerals & vitamins.
Moringa is also beneficial for human beings because of its nutritional & medicinal properties. Moringa pods are very delicious for human consumption and very nutritious for vegetarian, a good source of protein, dietary fiber, potassium, magnesium, manganese, and Vit-C so it is widely cultivated for vegetables and traditional herbal medicine. Moringa seeds are also useful for oil and seed cake production.
Moringa seed oil is known as ben oil which is used in various herbal medicine and Moringa seed cake, obtained as a byproduct of pressing seeds to obtain oil, is used to filter water. Moringa has also referred a ‘miracle tree’ and also a panacea for a cure of more than 300 diseases like Diabetes mellitus, Asthma, cancer, and hypertension, also has Anti-inflammatory activity, Analgesic activity, and Cholesterol-lowering effect.
Moringa has high crude protein, minerals, and vitamins with other nutrients which make it special for our livestock even then our livestock owners are not aware of the nutritious value. Our nation is the biggest producer of moringa which is mainly for vegetable and medicinal purposes but our farmers and livestock owner are not participating to grow for livestock feed.
Each and every part of the tree, pod, seeds, root, and leave is useful so can give the money to the farmer. We have to address them about the nutritious value, availability, and benefits of moringa for the improving the economy of the livestock owners so that we can enhance our country's GDP.
Authors:
Dr. Amit Kumar, Dr. Neha Rajawat, Dr. Rishi Nanda, Rahul Kesharwani
Division of Physiology and Climatology,
ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izzatnagar-243122, India
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