Livestock Studies 2002, Vol 42, Num, 1     (Pages: 059-066)

The Role of Grassland in Livestock Animal Nutrition and Performation-Contamination of Diseases in Kars District

İsmail KAYA 1 ,Basaran KARADEMİR 2

1 KAÜ. Veteriner Fakültesi Hayvan Besleme ve Beslenme Hastalıkları ABD, Kars-TÜRKİYE
2 KAÜ. Veteriner Fakültesi İç Hastalıkları ABD, Kars-TÜRKİYE
- Kars district is one of the leading regions in Turkey in terms of the productivity of natural grassland and ruminant population. The animal breeding in this locality depends on the grazing during summer season. Therefore, it is important that the nutritive value and the affects of the nutritional diseases and their contagious aspects of grassland should be taken in consideration.

The botanical compositions of pasture in this region are gramineae (55-65%), leguminanoseae (23-30%), and other families (13-15%). The average nutritive matters are dry matter (DM) 28.87%, organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), crude fiber (CF), ash, nitrojen-free exract (NFE) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) values 90.68, 15.02, 2.01, 29.95, 9.32, 43.69, 57.69 % during grazing season, respectively.

Cattle, sheep, and other herbivors obtain the nutritional requirements for maintenance and productivity such as meat, milk, and wool during the grazing season. However, the grazing on pasture plays a role developing abnormalities due to antinutritional factors originate from grassland and the acquiring infectious and parasitic diseases such as anthrax, brucellosis, and coccidiosis. Keywords : Grassland, Nutritive Value, Animal Nutrition, Diseases