Production Potential of Different Pasture Grasses under Off-Season Rainfall in Arid Conditions of Bikaner, India

Livestock rearing is the important source of livelihood in arid region of Rajasthan where the crop production is unstable due to low and erratic rainfall. The rangelands and pastures are important land use system and provide main support to the livestock in the arid region of Rajasthan. Grazing of livestock is a common practice in arid zone as about 50 % of total area of western Rajasthan is available for grazing mainly for cows, sheep and goat, however, the availability of green fodder is restricted to monsoon and post monsoon months only and during rest of the period livestock graze on dry grasses and crop residues available in cultivated, fallow and wastelands and other grazing lands. The perennial grasses like Lasiurus sindicus, Cenchrus ciliaris, C. setigerus, Panicum turgidum, P. antidotale etc. with some annuals are dominated in the rangelands and pastures in the arid zone of Rajasthan. Generally these grasses are grown during rainy season but also regenerated during off-season condition when sufficient moisture is available through rainfall or irrigation and provide fodder during the lean period. Productivity of these pasture grasses were assessed during rainy season but information of the production potential during off-season is not available in literature. Therefore, present study was conducted during March to May 2015 at Arid Region Campus of CSWRI, Bikaner to assess the production potential and regeneration of different grasses during off-season under arid condition