Animal Husbandry WAEC

Introduction To Range And Pastures

Visão Geral

Drive north out of Kaduna towards Sokoto in August and the landscape is a rolling carpet of green, tall grass swaying shoulder-high beside the road, cattle spread wide across it with a Fulani herdsman walking behind. Make the same drive in February and the same land is brown, cropped almost to the soil, dust rising with every hoof. Nothing about the land changed except the season, yet it decides whether a herd eats well or eats poorly, and whether it stays put or treks a hundred kilometres south in search of grazing.

In this lesson you will learn what separates a range from a pasture, and a natural pasture from an artificial one; meet the grasses and legumes a Nigerian farmer relies on for grazing; and understand why this single, unimproved resource still feeds more of Nigeria's cattle, sheep and goats than any manufactured feed ever could.

Objetivos

  1. Define range and pasture
  2. Distinguish between natural and artificial pastures
  3. State the importance of range and pasture to livestock production
  4. Give examples of common pasture grasses and legumes in Nigeria
  5. Explain the factors affecting pasture growth

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Cartoes

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Nota de Aula

Ask a Fulani herdsman what he feeds his cattle and he will point at the land itself. Across most of Nigeria, ruminant livestock, cattle, sheep and goats, are raised almost entirely on grazing, not purchased feed. For the extensive system that still carries the bulk of Nigeria's livestock, range and pasture are the whole feed budget.

Avaliação da Lição

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  1. Extensive, largely unimproved natural grazing land, typical of the Fulani pastoral system, is best described as a: A. Pasture B. Range C. Paddock D. Ranch Answer: B
  2. Which of the following is an artificial (cultivated) pasture grass in Nigeria? A. Stylo B. Centrosema C. Guinea grass D. Groundnut haulm Answer: C
  3. Legumes such as Centrosema and Stylo are sown with pasture grasses mainly because they: A. Grow taller than grasses B. Fix atmospheric nitrogen and raise protein content C. Are resistant to bush fire D. Require no rainfall Answer: B
  4. Pasture growth in Nigeria is most strongly limited during the: A. Wet season B. Dry season and harmattan C. Early rains D. Flowering season Answer: B
  5. The seasonal movement of pastoral herds in search of grazing is known as: A. Ranching B. Transhumance C. Rotation D. Zero-grazing Answer: B

Questões de revisão

Pergunta-se como são as perguntas anteriores sobre este tópico? Aqui estão várias perguntas sobre Introduction To Range And Pastures de anos passados.

Pergunta 1 Relatório

(a) Complete the table below on forage crops

Botanical name Common name Types of forage
Pennisetum purpureum (i) Grass
Calopogonium mucunoides (ii) (iii)
(iv) stylo (v)
Panicum maxinium (vi) (vii)
Mucuna utilis (viii) Legume

(b)i. Define the term pasture

ii. State four ways in which grass-legume mixture is important in livestock production

(c) State six characteristics of rangelands

Detalhes da Resposta

(a) Completed table on forage crops

Botanical nameCommon nameTypes of forage
Pennisetum purpureum(i) Elephant grass (Napier grass)Grass
Calopogonium mucunoides(ii) Calopo(iii) Legume
(iv) Stylosanthes gracilisStylo(v) Legume
Panicum maximum(vi) Guinea grass(vii) Grass
Mucuna utilis(viii) Velvet bean (Mucuna)Legume

(b) i. Definition of pasture

Pasture is an area of land covered with grasses and legumes (herbage) that is used for grazing or feeding livestock such as cattle, sheep and goats.

(b) ii. Four ways a grass-legume mixture is important in livestock production

  • The legume component fixes atmospheric nitrogen through its root nodules, enriching the soil and improving the growth and yield of the companion grass.
  • It supplies a balanced diet, since the grass provides energy (carbohydrate) while the legume supplies protein, giving the animal a more complete ration.
  • It raises the total feeding value and palatability of the herbage, so animals eat more and gain weight or produce milk faster.
  • The mixture gives a denser, all-year ground cover that protects the soil from erosion and suppresses weeds.

(c) Six characteristics of rangelands

  • They are large expanses of natural, uncultivated land carrying native grasses, herbs and shrubs.
  • The vegetation grows naturally and is not planted or managed by man.
  • They occur mostly in semi-arid regions with low and unreliable rainfall.
  • Animals feed by grazing and browsing directly on the natural herbage.
  • They are generally of low carrying capacity, supporting few animals per unit area.
  • The forage quantity and quality vary greatly with season, being lush in the wet season and scarce and dry in the dry season.