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Here is an essay on ‘Grassland Farming’ for class 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Grassland Farming’ especially written for school and college students.
Essay on Grassland Farming
Essay Contents:
- Essay on the Introduction to Grassland Farming
- Essay on Range and Pasture
- Essay on the Classification of Range Conditions
- Essay on the Assessment of Range Conditions
- Essay on the Consideration of Lands for Pastures
- Essay on the Selection of Land for Pasture Cultivation
- Essay on the Selection of Suitable Grass Species
- Essay on the Preparation of Seed Bed and Sowing of Seeds in Grassland Farming
- Essay on the Application of Fertilizer in Grassland Farming
- Essay on Weed Control in Grassland Farming
- Essay on the Drainage of Pasture Land
- Essay on the Major Grass Covers of India
- Essay on Fodder Trees
- Essay on the Management of Grass Land
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Essay # 1. Introduction to Grassland Farming:
It is a system based adequate and intelligent use of grasses and legumes; a system which has an integral part of the cropping system to supply the forage for cattle feeding; a practice in which some unsuitable lands for cultivation are engaged for permanent grass-land farming; a system in which other areas are kept in different crop rotations having sufficient proportion of grasslands to control the soil erosion and provide profitable and sustained production of crop yield. In grassland farming-practice the hay and grass silage are main crops.
As per All India Livestock Census (1977), the total population of cattle is 369.031 millions, which is considered to be the largest population in the world. The total land kept under permanent grazing is about 13 million hectares, in which much of the lands fall under the category of wasteland and degraded lands.
Moreover, the area under fodder crops is only 4.4% of the total cultivated area of the country, which is totally disproportionate in reference to minimum requirement of fodder. India requires 232 million tonnes of green fodder and 405 million tonnes as dry fodder, each year. Singh (1988) reported the estimate of fodder requirement and cattle production in India, shown in Table 25.1.
Grassland farming is one of the most promising and economical practices to hold the soil against erosion and enrich the soils regarding their fertility status, provided that they are properly established and managed. The following two points can be considered for good management of grass land in humid regions where rainfall amount is adequate for abundant plant growth.
1. Sufficient supply of minerals such as lime, phosphorus and potash for desirable plant growth to get sufficient forage yield for cattle feed; and
2. Control on number and kinds of livestock and grazing periods, so that maximum vegetative growth can be attained for next grazing.
If grassland farming is followed on sloppy land, then loss of soils is stopped, i.e., land is under full protection. In addition, it also provides other benefits such as reduction of soil erosion and increase in productivity status of the soil. From field observations it has been found that only three-fourth of total amount of mineral supplied to the field for forage yield, is consumed by the crops, which is harvested for the livestock.
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It is again returned back to the field, when cattle are allowed to the pasture land for grazing. Similarly, the decaying of residues and roots also adds humus to the soil, which is subsequently used by the crops. Instead of all these, the grasses also develop some mechanical effects on the soil by creating favorable soil structures.
Essay # 2. Range and Pasture
:
The term ‘range’ is referred to the natural grassland, in which the climax or potential plant community mainly includes the native grasses (non-grass like broad-leaf herbs, legumes etc.) and shrubs, which grow naturally, and is valuable for forage production in sufficient quantity, justifiable to use as grassland for grazing.
As for as ‘pasture’ is concerned, it is artificially established grassland with or without non-grass vegetations like legume. The pastures are developed with the selected high forage-yielding grasses and legumes.
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The other features of pastures are outlined as under:
1. These are established, artificially by using most suitable species to have sufficient forage for livestock grazing.
2. The inputs like irrigation, fertilizer etc. are supplied by the man itself, to have good production.
3. The pastures are usually fenced; and are used either for grazing or production of hay and silage.
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4. The unpalatable vegetations in pastures are not allowed to grow.
Conceptually, a range site denotes the product of all its environmental factors and distinctive climax community, which are relatively uniform.
The different criterion used for distincting the range site are based on following two points:
(a) There should be significant difference in the vegetation types included in the potential plant community; and
(b) There should be appreciable difference in the quantity of forage production by the potential plant community.
The other points to be considered for describing the range sites are also mentioned as under:
1. The range sites should not be recognized only because of differences in the soil or in the climate unless these two are capable to produce a significant difference in the potential plant community.
2. The whole environment and individual factor must be taken into consideration, because each individual factors of the environment are effective to make distinction between range sites to the degree up to which they regularly occur with difference in the climax vegetation.
Essay # 3. Classification of Range Conditions
:
The condition of a range site is expressed in terms of existing state of vegetation. The need of classification of range condition is to provide an appropriate measure for any deterioration, taken place in the plant cover of the grassland, and thereby develop a basis for predicting the level of possible improvement. As per percent of climax vegetations present, the range conditions are classified into four classes (Table 25.2).
After extensive studies, Bhimaya and Ahuja (1969) have developed criterion for determining the condition classes of the range lands of Western part of Rajasthan, which are cited in Table 25.3. With such informations on grassland, the grass conditions can also be classified for other regions.
Essay # 4. Assessment of Range Conditions:
It is carried out either in the respect of improvements or deteriorations in the conditions of range land. This assessment is essential for taking preventive measures against deterioration.
For assessment of range conditions the following observations are essential:
1. Plant vigourness
2. Reproduction and regeneration
3. Plant composition
4. Plant residues
5. Condition of the soil
6. Forage yield.
These are described as under:
1. Plant Vigourness:
The plant’s growth property under which the plant size and its various parts, both above and below the ground surface in relation to age get change is referred as plant vigourness. The age of plant and environmental conditions mostly affect the plant vigour. It is predicted by measuring the length of rhizomes and stolons. The basal area of the clumps can be charted by pantograph. The number of tillers and height of tallest tiller are used for vigourness prediction.
2. Reproduction and Regeneration:
These two features of range land are indicated by the young seedlings, plants of different age groups and spreading of tillers, rhizomes and stolons. All these features are likely to change with growth habits of individual species and growing conditions. The variation in reproduction and regeneration of range is marked by the density of cover on the ground surface. As reproduction gets increase the area covered by vegetation increases (i.e. density increases), accordingly.
3. Plant Composition:
The plant composition provides an important information on succession of plants, i.e., whether they are in progressive or in retrogressive stage. In spite, it is also helpful to determine the extent of improvement or deterioration in the range condition.
If there is deterioration in the range condition, then suitable measures can be undertaken, accordingly, for removing that after analysing the deterioration causes. The change in plant composition can be predicted by the method of transects, laid at random points in the degraded/improving/improved range sites.
4. Plant Residues:
The accumulation of plant residues in the range site is considered another important factor for assessing the range condition, i.e., whether it is towards improvement or deterioration’s side. The progressive accumulation of plant residues indicates improving of range condition, and vice-versa.
A range is said to be deteriorated, when there is inadequate plant composition. At this feature the forage yield gets reduce, sufficiently. On the other hand, if the range is under stocked very much, then residues accumulate and desirable plants replace the more desirable plants.
More commonly the accumulation of plant residues depends on the following points:
i. Amount of herbage produced by the plant community in the range.
ii. Amount of herbage removed from the range through grazing, haying, by fire, wind or by water.
iii. Amount of herbage decomposed into the soil.
5. Soil Condition:
The condition of top soil surface greatly affects the range condition. For example – if the soil surface is exposed or lack of plant cover, then effect of soil erosion is more pronounced; and slowly and slowly if proper measures are not taken then the effect of erosion gets extended for greater extent, and thus deteriorates the range in large proportion. Similarly, when range is allowed for over grazing, then range condition also gets severely deteriorated by the effect of soil compaction, soil erosion, surface crusting and also increase in the area of bare surface.
6. Forage Yield:
To achieve a good forage yield from the range lands by keeping them under proper management, is the main objective. The good yield of forage indicates a good condition of the range; is used as an important index for assessment of range condition.
The forage yield mainly depends on the climatic condition of the area, soil properties, plant composition, plant vigour, reproduction and regeneration. If forage yield of range is not good, then probable reasons of that should be searched out, and accordingly the suitable measures should be adopted to remove them.
Essay # 5. Consideration of Lands for Pastures:
Pastures are the artificially developed grasslands. These are one of the most effective, economical and practical means to conserve the soil against erosion and enrich them nutritionally, also. Although, the pastures provide several advantages, but it is not justifiable to utilize all the farm lands under them.
The lands for pastures can be considered by the following points:
i. Engaging a certain part of land under pasture.
ii. Modifying the uncultivable lands for pasture land
iii. Reclaiming the wastelands suitable for grassland farming.
Pastures on Cultivable Land:
As per land use capability classification the cultivable lands fall from the class I to class IV. These lands are suitable for crop cultivation and provide better return, if they are treated as per their limitations. If a farm area involves all the land as cultivable, and it is also very essential to grow fodder crops for feeding the farm cattle, then a portion of that land should be kept under pasture farming.
In this condition, it is advised to divide the entire farm land into different blocks, and each of them should be used in rotation to grow the pasture. This practice maintains the soil fertility within the limit, and also the yield of forage as well as grain crop, both are in proper range. The rotation of the grain crops and grasses for different land use capability classes has been recommended, is given in Table 25.4.
Essay # 6. Selection of Land
for Pasture Cultivation:
Although, there are considerable advantages of grassland farming, but it is not possible to engage all the farm lands under pasture cultivation. Generally, it is advised to retain a certain acreage of land for pasture. For this purpose there should be converted some cultivable lands for pasture, so that they would yield sufficient forage. The lands which are suitable for crop cultivation, should be adopted for grassland farming.
The fertility status of the soil to be kept under grassland farming plays a significant role for forage production. The fertility level should be high, because it is necessary to produce sufficient amount of forage for grazing, and to create good vegetal cover over the land surface for protecting against water or wind erosion. If the entire farm lands are suitable for crop cultivation, then a part of that should be left permanently for grassland. However, it is better to use all the lands in rotation. Grassland farming should be avoided on upland part of the area.
However, the selection of land for pasture cultivation should be based on the following points:
i. The lands which have never been tilled and also not been used for cultivation or used for a short duration, should be avoided.
ii. The upland, where the soils are badly eroded by their top surface layer, is not suitable for grassland cultivation. Because the nutrients of the top soil layer have been washed away, and remaining sub-soils are not so fertile to produce good forage. If these lands are kept under pasture, then they are unable to pay a good return.
The typical lands are those which are not suitable for cultivation.
Mainly, the following lands are counted as typical to grow the pasture:
(a) Lands, those have been cultivated for such a longer duration that, they are not remain suitable for pasture development, regarding fertility point of view.
(b) Steep lands, which have either never been ploughed or kept under cultivation for very short period.
Besides, putting the above featured lands directly under pasture farming, they should also be planted by trees; because below the trees, the grasses get grow naturally in due course of time. The grasses grown so, are used either for grazing or for making the hay etc. It should also be taken care that, in such developed pastures the grazing should be allowed especially when the height of tree plant is reached to a suitable level, otherwise, the animals destroy them.
This practice provides a better result regarding production of timbers besides controlling the soil erosion. The grasses also provide a good cover on the soil surface and thus control the soil erosion. Overall, the tree plantation makes the pasture farming more effective in respect of erosion control.
The lands, which have been kept under cultivation practices for considerable time, the fertility status of the soil gets reduced very much, as result on such lands the cultivation of corps is not feasible. In such condition, these lands can be allowed for pasture farming. The sloping lands have lost their capacity to absorb the water, causing flow of runoff and erosion from these lands, is more.
In this critical situation, such lands are preserved by growing vegetations (i.e., pasture). However, they can also be prevented by using mechanical constructions like terracing etc., but because of having higher construction cost, these practices are not commonly recommended. In usual way, the growing of vegetations on such lands is preferably done as a method to control the soil erosion.
Essay # 7. Selection of Suitable Grass Species
:
To have good forage yield, the grass species play a key role in grassland farming practices. The choice of species mainly depends on the types of soil to be used for pasture and climatological characteristics of the area. For example – the grasses such as Sehima Decanthium, Decanthium Cenchrus and Lasirus cover are recommended for the red gravelly soils of undulate topography and rocky-hill areas.
Iseilema laxum and Decanthium annulatum are suitable for black cotton soils, both in upland and lowland areas. Similarly, Lasirus sindicus provides very attractive yield in sandy soils, provided that the annual rainfall should be up to 350 mm. The different grass species with their suitability for different soil types and rainfall amounts are listed in Table 25.5.
However, the choice on grass species also depends on the following points other than the types of soil and climate:
(i) Nutritative value of the fodder and fibrous contents.
(ii) Palatability
(iii) Ease of raising the species
(iv) Capacity to regenerate, coppice.
(v) Production per unit area.
(vi) Availability of fodder at the time of scarcity.
(vii) Whether, it requires irrigation or dependent on rainfall.
Essay # 8. Preparation of Seed Bed and Sowing of Seeds
in Grassland Farming:
Generally, most of the pasture’s seeds are very small, and young seedlings are very weak which cannot be used for transplanting. Due to the reason there is required a good soil environment for better seed germination. To achieve this, it is necessary to prepare a favourable seed bed for sowing. The seed bed should be firm, and seeds should be lightly covered.
The land to be seeded should be ploughed very well and firmly settled. From field studies, it has been observed that the application of fertilizer in the soil during seed bed preparation becomes more profitable in those soils which have less fertility level. In fertile lands, it is not necessary. A light disking should be done for mixing the fertilizer in the soil.
In humid regions the farmers follow the practice of seeding the mixture of grass and legume seeds as a nurse crop. Experimentally, it has been observed that when mixed pastures are sown in the fall or early of the spring season without a companion crop, then a good forage production is found in first year. In addition if the pastures are developed properly, then a greater net return than the total grain yield obtained from the grain crop, grown on the same piece of land.
The land preparation for sowing the seeds should be done by ploughing the soil and allowing for settle down of the soil. It is also advised to apply 300 to 400 kg per ha of fertilizers, before sowing the seeds. Normally, the fertilizers, i.e. N:P:K as 5:10:10 ratio is found to be highly effective.
After fertilizer application, a light disking should be done for mixing the fertilizers in the soil. Thereafter, sowing is done either by machine or manually. After seeding, the soil is planked to cover the seeds with soil. The planking operation makes the soil compact and provides a better environment to germinate the seeds.
The seeding method is concerned, the light drilling has been found to be a better method. In this method of seeding, the seeds are sown in the row, which is accomplished in one operation only. Seeding, using broadcasting technique, although takes less time but involves several disadvantages, like requirement of large amount of seeds per unit area and weed problem; removal of which using mechanical tools is not easily possible.
In order to have a better yield, the newly seeded area needs some special measures; the important among them are given as under:
1. Grazing should not be allowed.
2. The plants should be allowed to develop a good root system and leaves. If the grasslands are open for grazing before developing the root system very-well, then there is danger of removing the plants from the soil, which is very-very injurious for development of a good grass land. In addition, the development of good root system is very essential to make the plants able to sustain against extremely dry spells.
3. If the weed population becomes exceptionally more, then it is very essential to carry out some sort of weeding operations to remove them.
4. If there is water stagnation in newly seeded land, then it should be immediately removed, otherwise it will create the problem in seed germination.
5. Alter germination, it should also be inspected that whether germination is uniform or not; if not then that part of the land which has less germination, should be reseeded so that uniformity can be maintained everywhere in the grassland to make the grass cover in good and excellent condition.
The reseeding operation should also be carried out under following special conditions:
(i) The pastures, which are old and unused, are required to reseeding for creating a good grass-cover.
(ii) The newly seeded pastures, where sod has been failed to get establish due to some unforeseen reasons, then reseeding should be done.
(iii) Particularly, if legumes are in poor stand form, then it is necessary to broadcast the seeds during late winter or early spring.
Essay # 9.
Application of Fertilizer in Grassland Farming:
The application method and amount of fertilizer required to apply in the pasture crop, depend on the fertility status of the soil. The calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium etc., are the main for developing a good crop stand and production of better forage yield.
The fertilizers should be mixed in the soil properly at the time of seed bed preparation. If the soil is suspected to have calcium deficiency, then soil should be tested very well for determining the amount of calcium, required to apply. Lime should be used for overcoming the calcium deficiency.
The lime and phosphorus should be applied at the time of seed bed preparation. This mode of application is more effective than when they are applied in the stand crop over the soil surface. The nitrogen requirement should be furnished with the F.Y.M. The FYM also adds organic contents in the soil, which is more effective for several years. The FYM should be applied either in the fall or very early of the spring season.
For application, the F.Y.M should be spread uniformly over the entire seed bed and thoroughly mixed by ploughing operation. The effect of commercial nitrogen is not as F.Y.M; exhausted very soon. The commercial nitrogen should be applied one week before, when it is desired to have sufficient plant growth either for harvesting or grazing purposes. As precautionary measure, the Nitrogen application should be at appropriate moisture content in the soil.
Essay # 10. Weed Control in Grassland Farming:
From field, studies, it has been observed that the organic manure is one of the main sources to create weed problem. Weeds dominate the forage crops, as result the forage yield gets significantly reduced. Similarly, in pasture land when cattle like sheep, goat, cows etc., are allowed to graze the grasses, then they also create severe problem of weeds by dispersing the seeds.
The weed control can be achieved by harvesting the weeds twice a year at appropriate time. It should be done before the seeds have been formed in the plants. Similarly, the weeds as shrubs or trees sprout should also be removed by cutting them at proper time. The bushes should be cut at the time, when it is expected that there is minimum starch is formed in their roots.
Essay # 11. Drainage of Pasture Land
:
Standing of water in the pasture field is very-very harmful for good forage yield. It reduces the yield up to a great extent, and thus, the drainage of pasture land becomes very essential. It is done simply by laying out the open channels or tiling passing through the wet spots of the area and leading to the suitable waterway or the outlet.
Sometimes, it is also carried out by constructing open ditches in the pasture field, in which water is collected, and thus making the land free from water. If the design of drainage ditch is done accurately, then it plays very significant role in draining the grass land.
Essay # 12.
Major Grass Covers of India:
The distribution pattern of various grass covers reveals that their occurrence is mainly governed by the factors such as climate and latitude of the area.
The major grass covers of India have been grouped into five distinct groups given as under:
1. Sehinia-Dicanthium Grass Cover:
This type of grass cover is spread over the entire part of Peninsular India, which includes the central plateau regions such as Chhota Nagpur plateau and Aravalli ranges with the potential coverage of about 17.40 lakh km2 area. This cover is also found in the coastal regions of India.
Sehima-Decanthium type grass cover includes about 24 species; few of them are as Aristida setacea, Arundinella mosophylla, Both-ricochiloa pertusa, Chloris dolichostachya, Chrysopogon fulvus, C. orientals, Cymbopogon, Chloratus, C. gidraba, C. Jwarancusa, C. martinii, C. travan-corensis, Cynodon dectylone, Decanthium annulatum, D. caricosum, D. nodosum, Eragrostist coarctata etc.
2. Dicanthium-Cenchrus-Lasiurus Grass Cover:
This grass cover is associated to the sub-tropical arid and semi-arid zones of the country, comprising northern part of Gujarat, whole Rajasthan, Western Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Punjab with potential coverage of more than 4.36 lakh sq. km area. On southern parts of the country, the Sehima-dicanthium and Dicanthium-Cenchrus grass covers are used in combination. The main species of this type of grass cover are the Chencrus ciliaris, C. setigerus, Cymbopogon. Jawarancusa, cynodon dactylon, Dactyloctenium sindicum, Desmostachya bipinnata etc.
3. Phtagmites-Saccharum-Imperata Grass Cover:
These grass covers are distributed throughout the Gangetic plain including the Brahmaputra valleys and plain of Punjab. It shares about 28 lakh sq. km area in the states of Manipur, Assam, Tripura, West Bengal, Bihar, U.P., Delhi and Punjab. The different species under this grass cover, for semiarid regions are the Desmostachya bipinnata, Imperata cylindrical, Phragmites karka, Saccharum arundinaceum, S. bengalense and S. spontaneum.
4. Themeda-Arundinella:
This grass cover is spread in the entire northern and north-western mountainous tracts of the country. It covers about 2.3 lakh sq. km area in different states such as Manipur, Assam, West Bengal, northern part of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. The main grass species under this cover are the Arundinella bengalensis, A. nepalensis, Bothrichla intermedia, B. pertusa etc.
5. Temperate-Alpine:
This type of cover occurs in the northern mountainous range, comprising the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West-Bengal and Assam. It covers total area of about 2100 km2 in the western part and more than 1500 km2 in the eastern part. The main species of this grass cover are the Agropyron canaliculatum, Agrostis canina, A. fillpes, A. munroana, A. myriantha, Androgon tristis, Calamargrostis, Epigejos, Chrysopogon gryllus, Dactylis glomerata etc.
Essay # 13. Fodder Trees:
In India the availability of grasses is usually scarce for greater part of the year, especially in the arid and semi-arid zones, because of the hot climate and poor rainfall during monsoon season. In the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana, the animals like sheep, goats and camels are fed mainly by the leaf from trees or shrubs found in wastelands. In hilly tracts the fodder trees constitute the main source of green fodder for the livestock.
In the wet areas like Orissa, Assam, Bengal and Bihar, the fodder trees are equally important during rainy season, when most of the grasslands are either flooded or water-logged. The plantation of fodder trees is very essential in India, which can be established on silvipastoral lines or around the agricultural fields, village boundaries or community lands.
Fodder Trees of India:
The leaf fodders from trees are exceptionally rich regarding essential nutrients like crude protein, nitrogen free extract, calcium, phosphorus etc., as compared to the grasses or dry crops. Some of the leaf fodder trees like Leucanena Latisilique, Sesbania grandi flora etc. have better nutritious value than even barseem or lucern. By research it has been reported that, more than 15% crude protein is found in a number fodder trees. Singh (1988) has reported the information on fodder trees and shrubs and their nutritive values, as given in Table 25.7.
Essay # 14. Management of Grass Land:
In India about 3% of total land is engaged under pasture which is very less; it should be at least 10 to 15% either for controlling the soil erosion or supplying the forage for cattle feed. For grass land farming, it is very essential to convert some culturable lands into grassland to produce sufficient forage.
Grassland farming practice can be improved by using the following measures:
1. Introducing better grass species according to the land and climatological condition of the area.
2. Applying appropriate amount of fertilizers and manures.
3. Removing the weeds from the grassland.
4. Adopting proper grazing practices.
5. Improvement by using contour ridging and other water conservation structures etc.
Regarding grazing, it should be allowed after developing the leaves properly and getting strengthen by their root systems.
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