AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

LIVE-STOCK

Live-stock occupies an important place in the agricultural economy of the district. It also constitutes one of the farmer's most coveted possessions. As the existing conditions of agriculture in India afford little scope for the use of mechanical devices for agricultural operations, cattle labour has to be largely relied upon. Draught power required for agricultural operations such as ploughing, harrowing, drawing water for irrigation, transport, etc., is derived mainly from bullocks. Cows are a source of milk which is highly in demand. Live-stock also provides much of the organic manure used on the farms. Hence a pair of bullocks for draught and a cow or buffalo for milk and manure are to be commonly found with a large number of farmers. Further, in rural areas a farmer's status is judged by the number of cattle be maintains. In fact no farmer can do farming economically without the aid of live-stock. Table No. 22 gives comparative statistics of bovine population in Amravati District in 1951, 1956 and 1961 while table No. 23 gives taluka-wise distribution of live-stock in Amravati district in 1961.

TABLE No. 22

BOVINE POPULATION IN AMRAVATI DISTRICT IN 1951, 1956 AND 1961

TABLE No. 23

DISTRIBUTION OF LIVE-STOCK IN AMRAVATI DISTRICT (TALUKA-WIS'E), 1961

According to Captain Meadows, " the Province of Berar con-tains the finest draught cattle in India". It is impossible to say what particular breed he referred to. In Amravati district there are three breeds of cattle: (1) The Umarda or Gaorani breed, (2) The Khamgaon breed, and (3) the Ghat or Pahari breed. Of these, Umarda cattle are considered the most suitable for the plains, whereas the Chat cattle do better in the hilly tracts.

Umarda breed.

The Umarda breed is divided into two well defined types which are said to differ in colour only. The bullock of this breed is of medium size and is white or red in colour. The body is compact; the head is well placed and broad between the eyes; the forehead is slightly concave: the horns are of medium size; the muzzle is broad and usually dark in colour; the nostrils are large; the neck is short and thick with a rather small dewlap: the back is straight and the hump of ordinary size. The animal is well proportioned, active and keen-spirited. The breed is very hardy, and a pair will trot 30 to 40 miles a day. Cattle of this breed are common in Amravati, Achalpur, Daryapur and Chandur tahsils.

Khamgaon breed.

The Khamgaon cattle are seen mostly in Daryapur tahsil where the soil is deep and heavy to work. This breed is the largest and strongest of the Berar breeds, and is well suited for heavy work on black cotton soil. The typical Khamgaon bullock is a big bony animal with mixed colours, the general colour being red or tanned red mixed with white. His hoofs, muzzle, horns and inside of the ears are of a chocolate colour; forehead is broad and slightly convex, the muzzle fine and the hump well developed, horns are of medium length and rather thick at the base. The Khamgaon bullock is round in the barrel and altogether a strong, massive animal. As a trotter he is inferior to the Umarda breed, and is fatigued earlier. As a strong draught animal he is well suited for working in heavy soils.

Melghat breed.

The Melghat or Pahari bullocks are smaller but active and hardy. They are well suited for the conditions of the hilly tracts. The forehead is straight with a vertical depression midway. The limbs are strong and well apart. The pelvis is rather lean and narrow and the dewlap small.

Ever since the boom of land prices and prices of agricultural commodities, more and more of the fallow lands and cultarable waste lands, which were formerly available for pastures have been brought under cultivation. Consequently the cultivator has been compelled to reduce the number of his cattle and to provide a daily supply of fodder for his working bullocks. The cultivator finds it more profitable to produce agricultural goods than to rear cattle. This has created a shortage of good cattle.

Buffaloes.

There are two breeds of buffaloes in the district, the Gaorani or Nagpur breed, and the Malwa breed. The former are distinguished by their long horns that sweep back over the neck, the Malwa buffaloes are smaller and their horns shorter and  slightly crumpled. Gavalis keep buffaloes in herds. Jowar  stalks, grass and cotton seed are fed to them. An average  buffalo in this district yields five to six seers of milk.

Diseases of Cattle.

Epidemics among cattle are very common, and as no care is  taken to segregate diseased animals at the first appearance of an  outbreak, infection spreads fast in a herd. The diseases most prevalent in this district are rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease, malignant sore throat and pleuro-pneumonia. Other bovine ailments such as hoven diarrhoea and dysentery are common in the district.

Rinderpest is a common disease, but young buffaloes especially are liable to it. An animal attacked by it generally dies within a week. The curative measures consist of feeding the animal with ghee, mug, and rice water. Inoculation for rinderpest is practised. Foot-and-mouth disease is very common. The animal attacked by it is made to stand in mud and dikamali (resin of Gardenia lucida) boiled in linseed or til oil is rubbed on the sores of the feet. If there are ulcers on the tongue, they are treated with alum powder. Should the hoofs split, the animal becomes lame for life, but the disease is not fatal.

The rate of cattle mortality has been reduced to some extent due to the availability of veterinary facilities in the district.

Sources of Live-stock.

The district neither exports nor imports live-stock. The main source of cattle to the farmers is from the weekly markets. However, some animals of pure breed are imported from distant places in the State for use in key village centres and cattle breeding farms and for improving the local progeny at farms. The important cattle markets in the district are located at Amravati, Badnera, Morshi, Rajura, Chandur Railway, Shendurjana, Achalpur and Chandur Bazar.

Products.

The main live-stock products in the district comprise milk, eggs, wool, manures, skins and hides. The following table gives the average output per head of cow, buffalo, chicken, cattle, sheep and goat and the estimated value of the products thereof. It should, however, be noted that the statistics are based upon certain estimates, and no accuracy is claimed for them.

TABLE No. 24

TABLE No. 24-cont.

Fodder-supply.

The district is self-sufficient in fodder-supply. The cultivators produce fodder in their farms. The fodder and cattle feed consist mainly of Kadbi, grass, stalks from groundnut crop, Kutar prepared from the leaves and stalks of wheat, bajra and tur, etc. Udid grains, cotton-seeds and groundnut cake are served as concentrated feeding to cattle.

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