The level of nutritional and mineral utilisation by livestock is vital factor affecting their reproductive efficiency.
University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Faculty of Animal Production and Technology Dean Professor Dr Talat Naseer Pasha told newsmen here on Friday that mineral imbalance of soil and forage were responsible for impaired reproduction and growth, wasting disease, bone abnormalities, infertility and low milk production in livestock.
He said to cope with the situation, the UVAS had launched a research project titled 'Studies on mineral imbalances in the livestock of canal irrigated districts of the Punjab'. Pakistan Agriculture Research Council has funded the project costing Rs 8.59 million under the Agriculture Linkage Programme.
In the first phase of the project, mineral (macro and micro) mapping will be conducted of the ten canal-irrigated districts; Muzaffargarh, Hafizabad, Sheikhupura, Lahore, Kasur, Okara, Sahiwal, Pakpattan, Gujranwala and Khushab based on water, forages, feed, soil and blood analyses of the livestock.
Dr Naseer, who has been appointed Principal Investigator of the project, said the findings of the study would be helpful in specifying the areas and visualising the etiological factors of impaired production of livestock in a particular region, causing significant economic losses.
The foremost advantage of the study would provide guidelines in formulating the premixes and balanced feed for livestock in particular regions, enabling each canal-fed district of the province to initiate prophylactic measures against factors that are badly impairing the current productivity of livestock of various categories, he observed.