Crop Residue Based Complete Feed for Enhancing Livestock Performance- A Review

The estimated projected data regarding demand and supply of feed and fodder shows13.20% and 18.43% deficit between demand and supply of dry and green fodder to livestock, respectively. Shortage of land for cultivation of fodders and increased human as well as livestock population has led to heavy competition for food grains that necessitates using the crop residues for the feeding of livestock. These crop residues are rich in fibre and low in other nutrients; they also have low palatability and digestibility. The best way to efficiently utilize the crop residues is to prepare complete feeds from pretreated crop residues + concentrates mixture. Pretreatment of crop residues increases digestibility by increasing rate of delignification, increasing enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose, hemicelluloses and thus increasing the glucose yield. The complete feed is a quantitative mixture of all dietary ingredients to provide the specific nutrient requirement for various physiological functions of livestock. Crop residue-based complete feed could be prepared in mash, block and pellet (Expander and extruder) form. In this system, all feed ingredients including roughages are proportioned, processed and mixed into a uniform blend. Different researchers undertook feeding trials of complete animal feed and conventional animal feed and reported better performance in terms of weight gain, milk yield and reproductive performance on feeding complete feed pellets or complete feed blocks to ruminants as compared to conventional ration. In conclusion, crop residue based complete feed could improve ruminant performance and reduces cost of feeding per kg gain or yield and thereby improving livestock based rural economy in developing countries like India.