Assessment of the ruminant livestock feed sources availability, existing feeding practices, and nutrient balances was embarked at different zones of Gurez valley of Kashmir in two major seasons (summer and winter). A baseline survey was conducted to obtain the information in three zones, viz., Lower, Middle and Upper Gurez. The study was carried out in three villages in each zone where seven farmer families per village were selected randomly for the study. A total of 63 households owning livestock were interviewed to collect the information and the samples of available animal feeds and fodders fed during the seasons for chemical analysis. Daily nutrient intakes were calculated and compared with the standard requirements to determine the nutrient balances of livestock during the seasons. The main crops cultivated only during summer season were pulses (98.41%), maize (95.24%), and potatoes (90.48%), while few farmers in Lower and Middle Gurez also sow oats (42.86%) and had apple orchards (17.46%), the by-products and wastes of which were utilized as livestock feeds. The only fodder crop cultivated throughout Gurez was maize. During winter, due to very harsh climatic conditions, no agricultural activities are being carried out, as such greenery perishes from the scenario. Feed resources availability to the livestock varied according to the season. Animals relied mainly on natural grazing resources available overabundant during summer and remained undernourished due to very limited feed resources during winter when completely stall-fed. Most of the farmers offered tree foliage (92%) and practiced concentrate feed (86%) supplementation to their animals particularly during winter season (96%). Farmers (87%) were preparing concentrate feed at home by blending ingredients available with them. Only 6% of the farmers supplemented the diet of animals with mineral mixture. Nutrient intakes through different feed resources were in excess during summer, while non-availability of green fodder during winter leads to considerable nutritional deficit in quantity, as well as quality. It is concluded that lack of technical know-how among the animal rearers regarding livestock feeding strategies and winter season feed/fodder scarcity are the major constraints that limit livestock productivity. It is therefore suggested that there is a dire need for nutritional innovations to increase fodder production as well as adoption of fodder conservation and feeding strategies for ensuring year-round availability of animal feeds if sustainable livestock production is to be met in the high Himalaya Gurez valley of Kashmir.

中文翻译：

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克什米尔喜马拉雅山（高卢兹）高谷的牲畜饲料资源可用性，喂养方式和营养平衡。

在两个主要季节（夏季和冬季），在克什米尔古雷兹河谷的不同地区开始了对反刍类动物饲料来源可用性，现有喂养方式和营养平衡的评估。进行了基线调查以获取三个区域（即下，中和上古雷兹）的信息。该研究在每个区域的三个村庄中进行，每个村庄随机选择了七个农民家庭进行研究。总共对63家拥有牲畜的家庭进行了采访，以收集信息以及在季节进行化学分析时可用的动物饲料和饲料样本。计算每日营养摄入量，并将其与标准要求进行比较，以确定季节中牲畜的营养平衡。仅在夏季种植的主要农作物是豆类（98.41％），玉米（95.24％）和土豆（90.48％），而下古里兹州和中部的几位农民也播种燕麦（42.86％）和有苹果园（17.46％）。 ），其副产品和废物被用作牲畜饲料。整个Gurez种植的唯一饲料作物是玉米。在冬季，由于非常恶劣的气候条件，没有进行任何农业活动，因为这种绿色植物会从场景中消失。牲畜的饲料资源可用性因季节而异。动物主要依靠夏季过多的自然放牧资源，而由于完全失速喂养的冬季饲料资源非常有限，其营养仍然不足。大多数农民向他们的牲畜提供树叶（92％）并实行精饲料补充（86％），特别是在冬季（96％）。农民（87％）正在在家中通过混合可用的原料来准备精饲料。只有6％的农民用矿物质混合物补充了动物的饮食。夏季通过不同饲料资源摄入的营养过多，而冬季无法利用绿色饲料会导致数量和质量上相当大的营养不足。结论是，动物饲养者之间缺乏有关牲畜饲养策略和冬季饲料/饲料短缺的技术知识是限制牲畜生产力的主要限制因素。