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Showing posts from October, 2023

Azolla Feeding to Cattle : Economic Value or a Hype

https://indiancattle.com/azolla-feeding-to-cattle/ Dr. Abdul Samad At times we scientists and extension workers get carried away and do not analyze the utility of farm technologies in a pragmatic way. This problem accentuates when the campaign becomes blind activism and implemented to achieve performance targets. In such situations we fail to consider the appropriateness of the technologies, cost, ease, are forgotten. A recent boom to spread Azolla Feeding to Cattle is an example of a discussion in this blog. There are claims that Azolla can be an alternate to fodder feeding. Second, its feeding will result in less concentrate intake hence less feeding cost. We will examine these claims using evidence in the published literature. Azolla Feeding to Cattle is an old and Abandoned Technology First, Azolla is not a new technology, It was adopted in the 1990s. Countries such as China, Japan, Philippines adopted Azolla as an intercrop with rice but abandoned rapidly. It