LFP 211: Livestock Farm Practice (0+1)

NON-LEGUMES

• Non legumes refer to all grasses belonging to the family of plants, gramineae comprising 450 genera and more than 6000 species distributed throughout the world.
• Grasses considerably vary in their habits, size and habitat. Some grasses are annuals, while others are perennials. Another group of non-legumes is the Cereal fodders. They play an important role in the feeding of dairy animals.
• Farmers in general are not growing cereals exclusively for fodder purpose. Rather they grow them mainly (straw / stover) is used as cattle feed. But such straw/stover are very poor in their nutritive value compared to their value as green fodder. However there are varieties available in the cereal group exclusively meant for fodder purpose and in such a case the crop should not be allowed for grain setting.