Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message for waste into wealth has become reality in ICAR’s National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology of Bengaluru.
It has come out with a unique technique to process the fruit with high sucrose into economically viable silage (fodder for the cattles).
The uniqueness about the ‘silage in drums is not just in increasing the yield of the dairy production for the farmers but also helps in lowering the Green House emission.
The Silage may have very good news for Tripura as the state is trying to increase the yield of milk production. According to Dr Raghavendra Bhatta, Director ICAR- National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology of Bangaluru, Northeast has abundant high soluble sugar content fruits and such fruits are the main requirement for preparing silage in drums.
According to Dr Bhatta, it takes usually 21 days to make silage after cutting the residual waste of the Jackfruits and Pineapples and keeping it in the Air tight container. The Silage ones prepared will last for at least 10 years.
Dr Raghvendra Bhatta also added that methane emission in the environment is one of the most important causes of Green Houses gases and with the use of the Silage produced from the waste of pineapple and jackfruit the Methane Emission from the cattle’s can be lowered to 30 per cent.
India emits around nine million ton per year of Mithane from cattle waste and it is due to the paddy straw that is fed to the cattle’s in India, said Dr Raghavendra Bhatta, Director ICAR- National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology of Bangaluru and thus using of Silage lowers the emission of Methane.
The other important feature is the reduction in cost of the dairy producers in comparison to the fodder used now to feed the cattle.
As per the different studies the Cattles which are fed with Silage produces more milk than with straw fodders. The initiative of the ICAR-NIANP can be used specially during fodder crisis in many parts due to drought and natural disasters and the same is tested during floods in Kerala and drought affected Tumkur district of Karnataka.