Study on the traditional feeding practices of domesticated goat in Sovva region, Eastern Ghats (Andhra Pradesh), India

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1 INT J CURR SCI 2018, 22(6): E 1-7 RESEARCH ARTICLE ISSN Study on the traditional feeding practices of domesticated goat in Sovva region, Eastern Ghats (Andhra Pradesh), India Varalakshmi NR Pachari*, M Madhu Usha, KAS Nisha and K Kameswara Rao Department of Environmental Sciences, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam , AP, India *Corresponding author: rajienviron@gmail.com Abstract The goats are important livestock of the world and so in the Sovva region which provides the localized demand for meat and manure for the local people in the study area. The district is backward and no industrialization is in action which is why majority of the families take up this as a family profession as it makes a way for simple economy and livelihood. It is also easier to domesticate these goats and is with no such choosy demands for their nutrition. The current investigation was carried out to observe the feeding habits and most widely consumed plant varieties by the goats in Dumbriguda Mandal Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh. Keywords: Livestock; Livelihood; Plant varieties; Visakhapatnam Received: 13 th Feb 2018; Revised: 17 th Mar 2018; Accepted: 04 th Apr 2018; IJCS New Liberty Group 2018 Introduction The domestic goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) is a sub-species of domesticated goats among the wild goat of South West Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the family Bovidae and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat (Hirst et al., 2008). Goats are one of the oldest domesticated species which have been used for their milk, meat, hair and hides all over the world (Coffey et al., 2004). Goats were domesticated by man since 10,000 B (Campbell, 1981). Most of these animals are found in Asia and the Mid-East regions of the world. The other end these are the initial animals to be reared for milk for human consumption (Connor, 2001). Escalating population and increased demand for meat, milk, wool and manure is gaining popularity for livestock development among the nations. However scientific documentation on all these wild and native plants is not given priority. It has been estimated that out of 15,000 higher plants occurring is India 9,000 are common in use, of which 7,500 used for medicinal, 3,900 used in cultural ritual practices, 525 used for fiber, 400 used as fodder, 300 for pesticidal and insecticidal purpose, 300 used for gum and resin and 100 for incense and perfumes (Duthie, 1960). Some parts of the country economically backward section of people mostly depend on livestock rearing and has also become one of the family professions. This might be due to very less industrial development in the regions which makes it unavoidable to use the natural resources of which goats are one of the better economy gaining options. In addition the availability of feed for the goats is easier when compared to other animals as they have

2 Table 1. Plants preferred by goats as fodder S.No Family Scientific name Habitat Parts Eaten H/S/T/C/G Leaf Flower Fruit 1 Acanthaceae Peristrophe paniculata (Forssk). Brummitt 2 Amaranthaceae Achyranthes aspera L. 3 Amaranthaceae Alternanthera paronychioides St. 4 Amaranthaceae Alternanthera tenella 5 Amaranthaceae Amaranthus virdis L. 6 Amaranthaceae Amaranthus spinosus L. 7 Anacardiaceae Lannea coromandelica (Houtt.) Merr. T Y N N 8 Anacardiaceae Mangifera indica.l T Y N Y 9 Asteraceae Ageratum conyzoides L. 10 Asteraceae Grangea maderaspatana (L.) Poir. H Y Y N 11 Asteraceae Pentanema indicum (L.) Ling. H Y Y N 12 Asteraceae Sonchus oleracaus L. 13 Asteraceae Bidens pilosa L. H Y Y N 14 Asteraceae Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M.King & H.Rob. 15 Asteraceae Emilia sonchifolia (L.) DC. ex Wight 16 Asteraceae Synedrella nodiflora (L.) Gaertn. H Y Y N 17 Burseraceae Commiphora caudata (Wight & Arn.) Engl T Y N N 18 Caesalpiniaceae Acacia auriculiformis A.Cunn. ex Benth. T Y N N 19 Caesalpiniaceae Cassia fistula L. T Y N N 20 Caesalpiniaceae Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb. T Y N N 21 Combretaceae Anogeissus latifolia (Roxb. ex DC.) Wall. ex Guillem. & Perr. T Y N N 22 Combretaceae Terminalia chebula Retz. T Y N N

3 23 Combretaceae Terminalia elliptica Willd. T Y N N 24 Convolvulaceae Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth C Y N N 25 Convolvulaceae Ipomoea obscura (L.) Ker-Gawl. C Y N N 26 Convolvulaceae Merremia hederacea (Burm. f.) Hall. C Y N N 27 Convolvulaceae Operculina turpethum (L.) S. Manso C Y N N 28 Cucurbitaceae Diplocyclos palmatus (L.) C.Jeffrey C Y N Y 29 Dipterocarpaceae Shorea robusta Roth T Y N N 30 Ebenaceae Diosp1ros melanox1lon Roxb T Y N N 31 Euphorbiaceae Phyllanthus amarus Schum & Thonn. H Y Y Y 32 Euphorbiaceae Phyllanthus fraternus Webster H Y Y Y 33 Euphorbiaceae Phyllanthus reticulatus Poir. S Y N N 34 Euphorbiaceae Bridelia hamiltoniana Wall. ex Muell. T Y N N 35 Euphorbiaceae Emblica officinalis Gaertn. T Y N N 36 Fabaceae Abrus precatorius L. C Y N N 37 Fabaceae Acacia catechu (L.f.) Willd S Y N N 38 Fabaceae Alysicarpus scariosus (Rottl. ex Spr.) Grah H Y Y Y 39 Fabaceae Alysicarpus longifolius.wight and Arn. 40 Fabaceae Alysicarpus tetragonolobus Edgew. H Y Y Y 41 Fabaceae Alysicarpus vaginalis (L.) DC. H Y Y Y 42 Fabaceae Cajanus scarabaeoides (L.) Thouars C Y Y Y 43 Fabaceae Cassia obtusifolia L. Syn Cassia tora Sensu Baker. 44 Fabaceae Cocculus hirsutus (L.) Diels C Y N N 45 Fabaceae Crotalaria calycina L 46 Fabaceae Crotalaria pallida L

4 47 Fabaceae Crotalaria medicaginea Lam. 48 Fabaceae Clitoria ternatea L. C Y Y Y 49 Fabaceae Desmodium triflorum (L.) DC. H Y Y Y 50 Fabaceae Dolichos trilobus L. H Y Y Y 51 Fabaceae Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet C Y Y Y 52 Fabaceae Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. C Y N N 53 Fabaceae Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers H Y Y Y 54 Fabaceae Bauhinia racemosa Lam. S1n Piliostigma racemosum (Lam.) Benth. T Y N N 55 Fabaceae Bauhinia purpurea L. T Y N N 56 Fabaceae Dalbergia latifolia (Roxb.) T Y N N 57 Fabaceae Leucaena leucocephala T Y N N 58 Fabaceae Ougeinia oojeinensis (Roxb.) Hochr T Y N N 59 Fabaceae X1lia x1locarpa (Roxb. Taub) T Y N N 60 Flacourtiaceae Flocourtia indica (Burm. f.) Morr. T Y N N 61 Lamiaceae Anisomeles indica (L.) O. Ktze. S Y N N 62 Malvaceae Abutilon indicum (Link) Sweet S Y N N 63 Malvaceae Azanza lampas (Cav.) Alef. S Y N N 64 Malvaceae Hibiscus panduraeformis Burm. f. 65 Malvaceae Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L S Y Y N 66 Malvaceae Hibiscus sabdariffa L. H Y N Y 67 Malvaceae Malachra capitata (L.) S Y N N 68 Malvaceae Sida acuta Burm F. S Y N N 69 Malvaceae Sida cordifolia L. S Y N N 70 Malvaceae Sida rhombifolia L. S Y N N 71 Malvaceae Triumfetta rhomboidea Jacq. 72 Malvaceae Urena lobata L. S Y Y N 73 Malvaceae Helicteres isora L T Y N N 74 Meliaceae Azadirachta indica A.Juss T Y N N 75 Menispermiaceae Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers. C Y N N 76 Mimosaceae Acacia leucophloea (Roxb.) Willd. S Y N N

5 77 Mimosaceae Mimosa hamata Willd. S Y N N 78 Mimosaceae Acacia nilotica (L.) T Y N N 79 Mimosaceae Albizia odoratissima (L.f.) Benth. T Y N N 80 Moraceae Ficus amplissima J.E. Sm. T Y N N 81 Moraceae Ficus hispida L.f. T Y N N 82 Moringaceae Moringa oleifera T Y N N 83 Nyctaginaceae Boerhavis repens L. 84 Nyctaginaceae Boerhavia erecta L. 85 Nyctaginaceae Boerrhavia diffusa L. 86 Oxalidaceae Oxalis corniculata L 87 Periplocaceae Hemidesmus indicu.(l) R. Br. C Y N N 88 Periplocaeae Hemidesmus indicus (L.) Schult. C Y N N 89 Phyllanthaceae Flueggea virosa (Roxb. ex Willd.) Royle S Y N N 90 Phyllanthaceae Phyllanthus niruri L H Y N Y 91 Rhamnaceae Ziziphus oenoplia L. Mill. C Y Y Y 92 Rhamnaceae Ziziphus jujuba Mill T Y N Y 93 Rhamnaceae Ziziphus x1lop1rus (Retz.) Willd. T Y N N 94 Rubiaceae Ixora arborea Roxb. ex J. E. Sm. S Y N N 95 Rubiaceae Haldina cordifolia (Roxb.) Ridsdale T Y N N 96 Rubiaceae Spermacoce hispida 97 Rutaceae Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa T Y N N 98 Sapindaceae Cardiospermum helicacabum L. C Y Y Y 99 Scrophulariaceae Lindernia ciliata (Colsm.) Penn. H Y Y Y 100 Scrophulariaceae Lindernia crustacea (L.) F. Muell. H Y Y Y 101 Smilacaceae Smilax zeylanica L. C Y Y Y 102 Solanaceae Solanum nigrum L. S Y N Y 103 Solanaceae Solanum virginianum L. S Y N Y 104 Verbenaceae Cleodendrum multiflorum (Burm. f.) O Ktze 105 Verbenaceae Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (L.) Vahl H Y Y N 106 Zingiberaceae Genus curcuma 107 Rutaceae Chloroxylon swietenia DC. T Y N N

6 no choosy demands and are easy to domesticate. On a positive side goats can find plants for feed even under extreme environmental conditions as they can feed on any variety of plants which makes it a viable option for economically backward people for choosing this as livelihood. Nevertheless there are still few hurdles in finding food for these as they are even selective in some plant varieties which call for attention in days to come with the degrading forest resources. Goats are their own Nutritionists and it becomes rationale to save these domesticated animals from the imminent environmental dangers. Fig. 1. Graph showing plants parts preferred by Goats concerned people and village heads for secondary data. The collected data was re-confirmed with regular field visits and observations to avoid any duplication along with photographs (Fig. 1). All the plants were identified by using various floras identified and mentioned in literature (Ugemuge, 1986; Singh et al., 2000, 2001). Results and Discussion Regular field visits and close observations revealed number of plants which were not reported by the informants which is due to unavailability of local names presented in table 1. Table 2. Habits of the palatable plants Habitat Number of plants Herbs 41 shrubs 17 Trees 32 Climbers 17 Total 107 The present investigation recorded a total of 107 plant taxa distributed in 36 families and dominant Materials and Methods The present investigation was carried out during the months of November 2014 to March 2017 with regular field visits and extensive survey in the study area. The survey included discussions with the shepherds and villagers from different localities in Sovva region. Data relating to goat fodder plants, availability, presence, palatability and its effects were gathered for more qualitative information. A preplanned query form covering the aspects of vernacular name, botanical name, family, habit and plant parts eaten by the goats was prepared and distributed to the local people for required information. During the survey general talks were also carried out with the families are Fabaceae (24) and Malavaceae (13). Habitat wise the studied taxa were differentiated as Herbs (41), Shrubs (17), Trees (32) and Climbers (72). Of thousands of surrounding varieties only few plants were chosen as fodder by the goats of which the above mentioned 107 plants were common. In addition flowers of 23 plants and fruits of 16 plants were eaten. However roots are ignored being underground and their natural feeding habit does not engage no dig but just pick up manner. In contrary sometimes they even prefer eating young shoots. Surprisingly grasses are least preferred by the goats. Thus, the study showed that tribal people are mostly involved in goat rearing / farming business as part of traditional practices and

7 economical vulnerability for a more secure livelihood. And majority people choose this business even when other better opportunities were detailed to them as a part of survey. Fig. 2. Plant parts Eaten by Goats Fig. 3. Photographs of Informants Acknowledgements Authors are grateful to Prof. K. Kameswara Rao, Department of Environmental Sciences, Andhra University, Sanjeevini Rural Development Society and key communicators for providing information on feeding ecology of domesticated goat in Sovva region. References Campbell LS (1982). The Whole Goat Catalog. Coffey L, Linda G, Margo Hale, Ann Wells (2004). Goats: Sustainable Production Overview. ATTRA. Connor S (2001). Goats were Man s First Livestock. February Cooke T (1958). Flora of the Presidency of Bombay. Vol.I-III. BSI (REPR), Calcutta, India. Duthie JF (1960). Flora of Upper Gangetic plain and of the adjacent Siwalik and sub-himalayan Tracts. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta, India, Reprinted. Hirst K. Kris (2008). The History of the Domestication of Goats. About.com. Accessed August 18. Salve AP, Reddy PG (2012). Documentation of traditional knowledge fodder used of the native inhabitants in Beed district (M.S.) India, Life sciences Leaflets 9: Singh NP, Saravanam Karthikeyan (2000). Flora of Maharashtra State: Dicotyledons. Vol. I. Calcutta, Botanical Survey of India, India. Ugemuge NR (1986). Flora of Nagpur District, Maharashtra. U. Rekha for Shree Prakashan, India.