4. Grassland management

Transcript

Hi friends. In the drylands, livestock are the important components. However in drylands due to the lack of moisture, sufficient fodder is not produced. Then what is the way out. In this direction the present lecture has been devised. That is with respect to grassland management. When you say grassland management, there will be increased number of livestock. Grasslands are deteriorating, with high nutritive value of at risk of extinction. So in this direction grasslands be managed to address these problems. There will be increased number of livestock. But due to the mismanagement these grasslands are not being properly managed. And the many livestock species are on the verge of extinction. So in this direction the grassland should be managed in a proper manner. The excessive grazing and mismanagement are transforming these grasslands into deserts. We are not adopting proper grazing technique. If you adopt the technique, we are mismanaging. We are not properly managing. Due to this the grasslands are being transformed into a deserts.

So based on the carrying capacity, management strategies can be implemented, which can regenerate and maintain the grasslands. Based on the carrying capacity. Carrying capacity is nothing but the number of animals that can graze on a piece of particular land. It is called as carrying capacity. Based on the carrying capacity, management strategies can be devised, which can regenerate these grasslands. In this direction the grassland management assumes significant importance. Then coming to the what are the treatments for increasing the grassland fodder species. Or what are the options before us, that can be adaptable to have grass fodder species. Let us see.

• One is soil and water conservation. Erosional processes can be reduced with treatments such as gully plugs, check dams and contour trenching. Here also in case of grasslands, there will be soil erosion. And this erosional process will take away the topsoil, and the land will be eroded. Because of this there is a need to adapt several soil and moisture conservation practices, so like contour trenching and contour planting.
• The second one is seeding. The seed should be sown before the first rain, when there is no growth of existing fresh grasses. These seeds should be mixed with cow manure and the clay to form pellets. Seeding in case of grasslands should be done before the onset of the monsoon, where there is no fresh growth of grasses. And these seeds should be mixed with manure, and they should form a pellets. Why this has to be then? They should be formed by pellets, so that they cannot be blown away by the wind effects. So seeding has to be done in this way.
• Then third one is fertilizers. Manure, nitrogenous and phosphatic fertilizers can be broadcasted to restore the fertility of grasslands. The grasslands are also needs fertilization. So in this respect; manures, fertilizers. Like phosphatic fertilizers, they can be broadcasted to restore the fertility of the grasslands.

So the treatments. Soil and water conservation measures, seeding and fertilization are important treatments in the grassland management.

Next coming to the establishing a grazing system for grasslands. In the introduction I told you that an effective grazing system has to be followed to produce a sizeable quantity of fodder for the livestock. So what are these grazing systems. There are 4 grazing systems for the grasslands.

• In this the controlled, continuous grazing. It is a grazing until a set of minimum amount of preferred grasses remain. It is easy to manage and involves no additional costs. Controlled continuous grazing. In this the grazing will be continuous one. The livestock will be allowed to graze, but with a controlled effect. It doesn’t involve any additional cost and also it is easy to manage.
• The 2nd one is differed grazing. In this, based on the differed area grazing will be carried out. In this what will happen. The grazing land will be divided into 3 components, among which one of the components, grazing will not be allowed. In the other two components the grazing will be allowed. Whenever the seeding of the pasture plant takes place. In this area again the grazing will be allowed. This is called differed grazing.
• Then the 3rd one is rotational grazing. In this allowing animals to graze in different sub-units of the grassland in rotation. What will happen in case of rotational grazing is that. The entire grassland area is divided into sub-units. For example 3 sub-units. In these 3 sub-units, in a particular rainy season, in some of the days; the particular component will one land will be allotted for grazing. And then it will be moved on to the 2nd one. Like that it will be moved on to the 3rd one. What will happen by this grazing technique. The livestock will get fresh forage, and also their growth will be very good.
• Then coming to the deferred and rotational grazing. The sub-units of the grassland is grazed for 1/3rd of the season. What will happen in this grazing system. Then entire grazing land will be divided into several sub-units. And each sub-unit will be grazed for only 1/3rd of its growth. So in this way deferred and rotational grazing will be taken up. So these are the 4 different types of grazing systems that has to be followed in case of grassland management.

Then coming to the useful plant species. While establishing a grassland, which are all the plant species that are to be selected. Though limited rainfall and high temperature contribute to scarcity of food, water and fuel and fodder. In case of drylands there is a limited and scarce moisture, which is contributing to the scarcity of food, fodder, fuel and water. So here in case of drylands; rainfed drylands, the sheep and goat are common as they resist the dry conditions. Cows and buffaloes are less common due to shortage of fodder and water. This is very common wherever we can see. In case of drylands the sheep and goats are common, because they resist hardest of the hard weather conditions, but not the cows and oxen. And also the cows and oxen are very limited because of the shortage of fodder and forages.

The option before us is to select the trees, which can provide fodder even during the summer months. So while selecting a plant species; we have to be very careful in that, we have to select a plant species which produce fodder even during the summer months. Then coming to the what are the useful trees. What are the useful trees for the rainfed drylands? What are their characteristics? For what criteria they have been adopted.

• For strong roots and conservation, the trees with well developed root system should be adopted. Because with a strong roots, they can able to bind the soil particles, and also they can able to go deeper into the soil. So that soil can be conserved. In this respect the species suitable are prosopis juliflora, azadirachta indica, albizzia lebbeck. These are the 3 species most suitable for soil conservation and for strong roots.
• For fodder and fuel. If our aim. If our goal. If our approach is to only for fodder and fuel, then we have to go for prosopis juliflora, prosopis cineraria and acacia nilotica. So acacia and 2 species of prosopis. Prosopis are very well suited as a species for fodder and fuel.
• Then 3rd one is for income and nutrition. This may be for the family. There are some of the dryland plant species. They also earn income besides providing nutrition to the family. Such of the plants are. Zizyphus mauritiana, which is popularly called as ber. And then punica granatum and phoenic dactylefoum. So punica granatum is the pomegranate. And this phoenic dactylefoum, it is also considered. It is a dead palm tree. So for income and nutrition these are the 3 species.
• Then for the salt affected areas. Even in case of dryland areas, the salt areas are a problem. So if it is a problem, we can also grow some of the species in salt affected areas. These species can easily dissolve the salt and they can grow. So which are all the species. Prosopis juliflora, prosopis cineraria and azadirachta indica are the popular species. In all respects the useful trees for the drylands are, the prosopis species, albizzia and then the main species. Then coming to the what are the planting techniques. If you have selected some of the plant species. Then what are the planting species. What are the planting techniques you are going to adopt.
• The first and foremost is planting trees along with the cultivable crop. In case of drylands it is a thumb rule that along with the crops we have to plant tree crops. So this is very well known. Whenever the crops fail, the tree crops act as a insurance.
• Then the 2nd is suitable combination of crops with trees should be adopted for optimum returns. First we should decide, what our criteria is. For what purpose we are planting. Then the suitable species of combination should be selected.
• Then 3rd one is very important. Excess number of trees should be reduced as they result in problem of birds, shade and nutrition. In case of drylands no doubt along with the crop component; a tree component or a perennial component should be there. But it doesn’t pose problem for the resources. So in such a way it should be managed. Here excess number of trees should be avoided as they come in the way of the sharing of the resources. And also there will be a bird’s problem and also shading effect, and also there will be competition for nutrition.

So these three planting techniques have to be adopted. One is planting trees along with the crop component. Second one is suitable combination of crops and trees should be selected. And the third one is excess number of trees should be reduced, as they come in the way of competition for nutrients and also shading effect will be there, and also bio-diversity will be there.

Then coming to the conclusion. The productivity of grasslands can be enhanced by the integral management practices. Now effective grassland management. Effective grasslands can be managed, with the integral management practices, so that the fodder demand for the livestock can be met. Then the second one is based on the knowledge of carrying capacity, appropriate grazing system can be identified, so as to manage grassland in a proper way. We have dealt with the different grazing systems. So appropriate grazing systems for a region has to be selected. So that, based on the carrying capacity. So that the livestock will be fed with more fodder. Then the third one is regeneration and maintenance of grasslands is possible through appropriate agrostological measures. It is possible to regenerate. It is possible to maintain the grasslands with suitable agrostological measures. It is agrostological measures means selecting a suitable forest species. Okay with this information, I am closing this lecture.

Thank You.