Vol. 12, Issue 1 (2023)

Author(s):
Pankaj, Vikesh Tanwar and Amit Dhankar

Abstract:
The development of the rural economy particularly the small and marginal farmers, animal husbandry and livestock sectors are the key component due to the small land holding of rural farmers in India. So forage crops are the main element to boost the income level and livestock animal health also the importance of forage crops can never be minimized due to their multipurpose role in foreign earning, achieving sustainable development goals, nutritional security, employment generation, etc. This review article describes the important forage crops cultivated in India and the diverse quality traits of these crops. These quality traits include the amount of Crude Proteins, Macro and Micronutrients, Dry Matter Digestibility, Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), and Crude Fiber contents. To understand the quality importance of specific forage crops, and use particular crop improvement techniques that is, Introduction, Hybridization, Mutation breeding, and Biotechnological tools to develop new cultivars which show adaptation to changing climatic conditions and bridge the gap of fodder deficit and supply and also contribute to nutritional security.