Nutritional study of local fodder species in Ahmednagar district of western Maharashtra

The locally grown forage grasses are main fodder source for maintaining the indigenous livestock breeds like Dangi cattle and Sangamneri goat in Ahmednagar district. Most commonly observed fodder grass and tree species grazed by livestock were collected from the field. The nutritional quality of these grasses and tree species was determined by undertaking proximate analysis in the laboratory. The local fodder species include Dicanthium annulatum, Setaria intermedia, Themeda triandra, Heteropogon contortus, Indigofera cordifolia, Apluda mutica, Cymbopogon martini, Tephrosia purpurea. Among the tree species Melia azedarach, Azadirachta indica, Prosopis julifera, Grewia asiatica, Clerodendrum multiflorum were the major tree species commonly available as fodder source. The nutritional analysis indicated that crude protein content ranged from 5.61 to 15.46%, crude fiber 18.09 to 34.87%, ether extract 1.00 to 3.24%, Ash 6.44 to 21.56 %  and silica was less than 5.31%. The grass and tree species found in hilly regions are showing tremendous variation in nutritional composition. This study highlighted the importance of local fodder species including grasses, legumes, bushes and trees in rearing the livestock with low inputs at field conditions.