46
STUDIES ON INDIGENOUS CREEPERS [Vol. XXVII, Part II,
of copper in the blood of all these animals, however, showed normal values. Simi-
larly, on a ration of this kind, although the milk yield during the entire lactation
was not much affected, but in the majority of the cases, the animals failed to come
into heat and appeared to have suffered from a sort of nutritional sterility [Tala-
patra, 1955].
Information on the chemical composition and nutritive value of the indigenous
or cultivated fodder plants so far available [Sen, 1937 ; Kehar, 1947 ; Talapatra
1949, 50] indicates that they may be poor in protein, calcium and phosphorus or in
any two or one of these indispensable nutrients. An all-round fodder plant rich
in protein, calcium and phosphorus for the purpose of growth and milk production
is yet to be found. For the past several years we were searching for a number of
indigenous fodder plants which should not only be rich in protein, calcium and
phosphorus but should grow without irrigation during monsoon and be available for
conservation in late October when weather conditions are, in general, most favourable
for hay making in any part of the country.
In this article an attempt has been made to present the chemical properties
and nutritive value of one such indigenous plant which not only grows in desert-like
conditions but appears to supply enough nutrients for growth, milk and wool
production.
Ipomoea pestigridis known locally as 'Ghiyabati' is a creeper like kudzu vines
which grows aggressively in a wild state during the monsoon in the western tract
of Uttar Pradesh and probably in other parts of the country. It is considered
as a sort of weed in jowar fields and when cultivated can be successfully raised along
with jowar. When grown singly, it produces a thick dense mass and abundant
foliage for about three to four months and remains green and succulent even in late
October when other green feeds are almost entirely absent in this part. Its immature
seeds look like English peas, while the mature ones are black and resemble more or
less sann-hemp seeds. Normally it appears to give two cuttings, but the yield in the
second cut is comparatively much smaller than the first cut.
I. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND PALATIBILITY
The chemical composition of the new feed on dry matter basis under a variety
of conditions is shown in Table I, while the detailed analysis has been shown at
other relevant places.
In mid-August when a large supply is available for feeding cattle, the protein
content of the plant on dry matter is about 21 per cent; with progressive maturity
it is lowered by almost half. It appears from the data shown above that even in
late October it contains as much protein as can be found in some of the legumes at
their later stage of growth. The data shown in column 3 indicate that for a period
of about 45 days from 8th September to 22nd October, the plant showed a fairly
constant level of protein with an average of about 13 per cent, regardless of the
locality from which samples were collected for analysis. A leaf meal prepared out
of the plant in September showed 19 per cent protein, while the second cut sample
(shown in the last column) 17 per cent. As expected both the mature and immature
seeds were fairly high in protein, viz. about 30 and 22 per cent respectively.