The fodder grass resources for ruminants: A indigenous treasure of local communities of Thal desert Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Indigenous people have been using local grasses for rearing their animals for centuries. The present study is the first record of traditional knowledge of grasses and livestock feeding system from the Thal desert in Pakistan. A snowball sampling method was used to identify key participants. Information was collected from the respondents from six districts of Thal Desert through semi-structural questionnaire and site visits. The data was analyzed through Smith's salience index and Composite Salience using ANTHROPAC package in R software. On the whole 61 grasses were recorded from the study area: most of them belong to the Poaceae family (52 species). Based on palatability grasses were categorized into three major groups i.e. (A) High priority, (B) Medium priority and (C) Low priority. Species in Group A, abundantly present in the study area represent a source of highly palatable forage for all ruminants. 232 (141M +91W) local participants were interviewed. Participants were grouped into three major age categories: 20-35 (48 participants), 36-50 (116 participants) and 51-67 years old (68 participants). ANTHROPAC frequency analysis confirmed the Smith's salience index and Composite Salience; Cynodon dactylon was the favorite species (6.46 SI, 0.6460 CS) followed by Cymbopogon jwarancusa (5.133 SI, 0.5133 CS) and Sorghum sp. was the third most salient species (5.121 SI, 0.5121 CS). Grasses were mostly available during the months of August and October and had also ethnoveterinary importance. This document about the traditional feeding of livestock in Thal Desert can underline the importance of conserving a traditional knowledge, which was poorly documented before.

An ethnobotanical study of forage plants in Zhuxi County in the Qinba mountainous area of central China

“…The diversity of traditional forage plant resources used by indigenous people is related to the life forms, quantity, and parts of wild plant species, and traditional knowledge about feeding forms, gathering season, and preparation ( Vogl et al., 2016 ; Harun et al., 2017 ; Ouachinou et al., 2018 ; Ma et al., 2019 ; Shaheen et al., 2020 ). Pigs are omnivorous animals; their demand for forage plants is different from that of other ruminants.…”

“…Wild plant resources with medicinal and veterinary effects can provide a basic reference for improving animal health and treating related diseases in the future ( Khan et al., 2019 ; Mertenat et al., 2020 ; Miara et al., 2019 ; Shaheen et al., 2020 ). In this study, there were some species that are used as veterinary medicine by local people.…”

“…Indigenous communities that have been involved in livestock handling possess significant knowledge about potential forage resources ( Sadat-Hosseini et al., 2017 ). Ethnobotanical investigations of fodder plants for ruminant animals have been performed in some countries, such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda, India, Mexico, Brazil, and Pakistan ( Bahru et al., 2014 ; Nunes et al., 2015 ; Vogl et al., 2016 ; Geng et al., 2017 , 2020 ; Harun et al., 2017 ; Shaheen et al., 2020 ). In China, there is no overall documentation about the relative importance of these feeds to farmers, especially for pig feeding, although some researchers have reported on the fodders browsed by ruminant animals ( Jia, 1987 ; Geng et al., 2017 ; Ma et al., 2019 ).…”

Pollen Micromorphology among Amaranthaceous Species from Desert Rangeland: Exine Stratification and their Taxonomic Significance

“…The study of systematic traits representing dicot species has proven to be quite useful in taxonomy at various hierarchical levels [1]. Therefore, our research builds on past studies of the Thal Desert [2][3][4]; however, the majority of the abovereported studies from Thal dryland present only a checklist of plant species along with ethnomedicinal documentation without any focus on micromorphological traits of dicot angiosperms. With respect to the spectrum of systematic traits, exploration of desert dicot angiosperms has been ignored for many reasons.…”

Study of antioxidant activity of fodder grasses using microbial test systems

“…Production of milk and meat under climate fluctuations requires novel strategies to improve fodder utilization and management (Shaheen et al, 2020). Usage of fodder grasses with high content of vitamins, phenolic compounds and other biologically active substances might be a promising strategy to support husbandry.…”