Date:29/07/2004 URL:

http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/seta/2004/07/29/stories/2004072900251700.htm
Sci Tech

Indigenous breeds of cattle for dry regions

By Our Agriculture Correspondent

The majestic, white and tall Tharparkar cows tended by the progressive farmer.

INDIGENOUS BREEDS of cattle are more hardy and resistant to many diseases.

They can stand the heat in summer, and are well adapted to Indian conditions. "I am
maintaining twelve milch cows of Tharparkar, a breed of the desert belt of Rajasthan,
and these animals yield an average of seven litres a day. I have recorded even 11 litres a
day from a cow that delivered its first calf in my farm," said Mr. P.B. Mukundan, a
progressive farmer of Seethandi Mandapam village, 12 km from Chengalpattu town in
Tamil Nadu.

Nutrition and vaccination

All the Tharparkar cows and heifers brought from Durgapura and Bassi villages in
Rajasthan are doing well in the 10-hectare organic farm of Mr. Mukundan.

The animals are fed well with green fodder and concentrate along with some organic
and herbal feed supplements.

The animals are vaccinated against foot and mouth disease, and are given a decoction
made of bark of (30 to 40 years old) neem tree and leaves of jack tree once in six
months.

About 50 ml of diluted calcium solution is added along with the feed mixture everyday
to improve the quality of the milk.

"I was raising cross-bred animals with Jersey blood and their yields were low. Besides,
they needed a lot of veterinary care.

Tharparkar breed advised

When I went to the Regional Livestock Research Station of the Tamil Nadu Veterinary
and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) at Kattupakkam, I met Prof. K.
Gajendran, Director, Centre for Animal Production Studies, TANUVAS, and he
advised me to go for indigenous cattle in general, and the Tharparkar breed in
particular.

Then I went to Rajasthan to fetch the animals last October, and I am extremely happy
with their performance," explained Mr. Mukundan.

"Tharparkar breed is well-known for its adaptation to arid and semi-arid regions. The
animals of this robust breed are majestic, white, tall and long legged with round barrel.

The animals are efficient converters of roughage and are resistant to many diseases. The
cows yield between 8 and 10 litres each on an average every day.'' `` The animals are
also known for their good reproductive efficiency," pointed out Prof (Dr.) Gajendran,
Director of the Centre for Animal Production Studies, TANUVAS. "We feed the cows
regularly about 15 kg green fodder and 5 kg concentrate feed everyday.

We also give them small doses of a biological feed supplement every day. The milk is
of excellent quality and it fetches a premium price in the city markets.''

Value addition

``We also make some value-addition to the milk either by separating the cream or
converting it to curd and ghee," said Mr. Mukundan. "We plan to expand our dairy
gradually, and it would be a profitable venture when we increase the herd size to 40
milch animals.''

``We need to have 2-hectare fodder bank to support this dairy. This economically viable
unit will produce about 30 calves each year to enhance the returns from the dairy,"
explained this enterprising organic farmer. He efficiently recycles the dairy wastes by
converting them to vermi-compost and bioactive slurry in combination with jaggery.
The bioactive slurry is diluted and mixed with irrigation water to enrich soil fertility.

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