Field Study on Draught Ability of Umblachery Bullocks in Cauvery Delta Zone of Tamil Nadu

Author: Selvaramesh A.S. and Narmatha N.

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Abstract

Livestock plays a inevitable role in agriculture and farm sectors all over the world. Due to mechanization the use of draught animals got reduced but still in areas like hilly regions and for small and marginal farmers the draught animals assists for their routine farm and agriculture operations. In spite of supporting the farmers in the agricultural operation it saves the fossil fuel as eco friendly. Among the 53 recognized breeds of cattle in India the research study on draught ability was very scanty. Hence this study was conducted to find out the draught ability of umblachery bullocks. Preliminary survey work was carried out in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts for identification of umblachery bullocks in farmer’s field. A total of 24 pairs of umblachery bullocks with four different age groups were evaluated for draught performance in wet plough marshy land in the rice field. Overall the average Horse Power (HP) calculated was 0.147± 0.04 in umblachery cattle. Animals in higher age group have significant draught performance differences with medium and young animals.

Keywords

Draught Power, Umblachery cattle, Renewable energy, Horse Power, Mechanization.

Conclusion

In modern era everyone is moving towards renewable source of energy and agriculture is not the exemption too. Livestock assist the farmers in all the farming operations and even after the inception of mechanization the contribution of draught animal power cannot be fully replaced. The total area coverage under farming system is more with DAP than the use of mechanized power. Implementation of cross breeding programme was one of the major cause for the declining nature of the indigenous cattle. The FAO consultation on draught animal (FAO, 1972) recommended that mass selection techniques can be used for draught characteristics and that selection be carried out within the environment in which the animals are under work. Hence the urgent need to develop various parameters for evaluation of animals for draft power so that different breeds or livestock animals can be compared for the purpose of selection or for culling to go further in improvement of the indigenous animal numbers and its effective utilization for various activities. The horse power can be evaluated under carting in road with and without load will give a clear picture about the draught nature of this breed

References

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How to cite this article

Selvaramesh A.S. and Narmatha N. (2024). Field Study on Draught Ability of Umblachery Bullocks in Cauvery Delta Zone of Tamil Nadu. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 16(5): 18-21.