Abstract
Mesquite or Vilayati babul (Prosopis juliflora) is a drought resistant, evergreen, spiny tree with drooping branches and a deep laterally spreading root system. It grows in semi-arid and arid tracts of tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world and is spreading because the leaves are unpalatable and animals do not digest its seed. The mesquite has become a major nuisance; cutting or pruning its branches to form a canopy would provide shade for travelers, aid harvesting of pods, as well as make available wood for fuel. An average plant starts fruiting by 3-4 years of age and yields annually 10-50 kg pods/ tree, which can be collected from May-June and September-October. Availability of pods worldwide is estimated to be about 2-4 million metric tonnes. Ripe pods are highly palatable; on dry matter basis they contain 12% crude protein, 15% free sugar, a moderate level of digestible crude protein (7% DCP) with a high level of energy (75% TDN). The pods contain low tannin levels below those toxic to animals. Seeds contain 31-37% protein; pods should be finely ground before feeding to facilitate utilization of the seeds. Mesquite pods could replace costlier feed ingredients such as grain and bran contributing 10-50% of the diet. Phosphorus supplements need to be added when mesquite pod, exceeds 20% of animals' diet.
Highlights
Availability of conventional feed resources is declining as livestock populations increase and grazing land declines with more urbanization to satisfy the increasing human population
Production of pods from the whole of India has been estimated to be two million tonnes (Punj, 1995) indicating availability of a large feed resource that may be used by feed processing industries for livestock
With mesquite pods accounting for 30% of concentrate diet of cattle there was no effect on red cell count, white cell count, hemoglobin, blood glucose, calcium, phosphorus, copper, zinc and iron levels in the blood (Talpada and Shukla, 1988d)
Summary
Availability of conventional feed resources is declining as livestock populations increase and grazing land declines with more urbanization to satisfy the increasing human population. Mesquite is useful as a fuel wood, and livestock do not consume twigs or leaves. Mesquite trees have stems 6-9 m in height about 45 cm in diameter with strong axial thorns; the bark is rough and dull red in colour; leaves are compound, bipinnate with 12-25 pairs of green foliates; flowers are lateral to axis; fruit is a non-dehiscent pod, curved and about 4 mm thick, 1 cm wide and up to 15 cm in length made up of light yellow hardened epicarp, fleshy mesocarp and woody endocarp which contains seed (Silva, 1986). Propsopis juliflora can grow in arid and semi-arid regions because of its resistance to drought and heat and it has many potential uses (Mendes, 1986).
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