Write notes on - (a) Crossbred animals (b) Sheep rearing (c) Pisciculture (d) Cultured pearls
Answers
CROSSBREED of animals of different breeds is systematic mating of animals of different breeds as part of a well-designed breeding program. What are the pro’s en cons of crossbreeding in commercial beef, poultry and pig breeding? In this chapter we first explain the theoretical background of crossbreeding and the different crossbreeding systems before we outline the structure breeding programs in the next chapter. Crossing takes place after the selection of parents in different breeds or lines (phase 5 in the figure below) and is structurally embedded in a breeding program.
Crossbred animals:
The profits from cross-breeding animals are higher as they yield more.
The Indian cow produces 5 to 6 litres of milk daily. If Indian cow and Jersey, Holstein or Red Dean Bull are crossed, their descendants produce 10 to 12 litres of milk a day. Kandhari, Devani, Khilari and Dangi are selected at the national level for cross breeding.
Sheep rearing:
Food of sheep: no expenditure on feeding the sheep is incurred by the farmer.
Sheep feed on the leaves of the boron and babul tree, wild shrubs, jowar stubble, groundnuts and horse grams, and so on.
Uses of sheep: Sheep give through their droppings wool, meat, skin and also manure.
One Indian sheep give one and a half kilogram of wool and 10 to 12 kg of meat. T
he sheep droppings have very high nitrogen, phosphorus and potash content.
Pisciculture:
Freshwater and seafood are consumed both as food.
Earlier people depended on catching the fish in the water bodies naturally.
Now the government supplies fish seed of such good quality.
These seeds or larvae are grown in bodies of water and fish are grown in desirable and marketable sizes.
Renavi and khasi are some of the marine fish used for fish farming.
Cultured pearls:
Pearls have been important since ancient times in the production of ornaments, decorative articles and borders.
This great demand has led to an industry of pearls.
Pearls are naturally formed in a marine animal called an oyster.
With the help of a new technique, a grain of sand is inserted into the body of the oyster.
This helps to build larger cultivated pearls.
Cultivated pearls are produced on a commercial basis and can not be considered artificial since they are naturally produced by oysters.