Mineral Status of Livestock, Soil, Feeds and Fodders in Ajmer District of Rajasthan

A large number of Indian livestock suffer from deficiencies or imbalances in minerals because they are mainly maintained on crop residue based rations and grazing without access to mineral supplement (Mc Dowell et al., 1993). Deficiency or imbalance of single or multiple minerals results in enzymatic dysfunction and hormonal imbalance associated with fertility of animals (Maurice, 2003). In India where dietary concentration of fodder fed to the animals are unknown or highly variable due to availability, season, location, forage, species and animal potential (Sharma et al., 2003), it is important to determine plasma mineral concentrations in animal region wise, to estimate needs of livestock so as to obtain optimum productivity and to access the effect of mineral deficiencies on serum vitamins, hormone and enzyme profile. Limited information is available on the feeding practices and mineral status of livestock, soil and feed in Kekri block of Ajmer district. Keeping this in view the present study was conducted in Kekri block of Ajmer district to establish relationship for different minerals among livestock, soil and feed in order to suggest dietary supplementation of area specific mineral mixture