**Acknowledgements**

**4.1. Eco-friendly silage**

tion of CH4

associated with their role in N2

30 Ruminants - The Husbandry, Economic and Health Aspects

**4.2. Managing silage effluent**

nutrient banking.

**6. Conclusion**

The use of home-grown protein-rich feeds (e.g. forage legumes) with multiple positive effects

nin-protein interaction, thus contributing to nutrition and the environment. The PSM in forage silage can have positive effects on animal nutrition in terms of (i) improved N utilization; (ii) animal health (e.g. tannin-parasite interaction) and (iii) the environment through reduc-

observed in vegetable residue silage inoculated with *L. plantarum* [92]. Inclusion of red clover in silages is found to be a promising strategy to bring in combined effect of improved animal performance with reduced environmental pressure [17] due to the presence of active POP in chaffed forages that act on exposed plant cell contents [63]. There is thus a need to go for selective plant breeding to develop tropical forages with decreased plant fiber and lignin content,

In some intensive agricultural areas, silage effluent may be one of the commonest forms of agricultural pollution contaminating water bodies. Sealing of silos with cement or lining with plastic sheets, and use of plastic bags/drums preserves the leachate that usually contains high amounts of nitrates. Harvesting forage for silage making at the correct moisture content and proper storage will reduce the volume of leachate from the silo. Silos and trenches should be located away from wells/water bodies to reduce the possibility of effluent polluting groundwater sources. A vegetated area between the trenches will be of greater usage to utilize the

Preservation of forage as hay and silage is intended at banking during surplus to meet the scarcity during unavailability or natural calamities. In other words, these technologies would evenly and adequately supply the bulk of feeding to livestock, thereby insulating any drop in production. Feeding hay or silage to livestock helps reduce the amount of concentrate feeding and thereby the cost of feeding. The concept of haylage, mixed silage and TMR silage has widen the scope of feed banking and nutritional optimization for higher productivity. Silage making is not only a process of feed preservation but it also preserve nutrients, phytogenic substances, succulence and completeness of a ration, thereby further the scope of feed and

Seasonal feed scarcity is a concurrent problem that farmers usually face besides natural calamities like drought, flood, cyclone, earthquake, etc., which has a significant impact on sustaining animal agriculture and guaranteeing profitability. Ensiling of surplus forage biomass will

increased WSC, increased content of S-amino acids, desired phytochemicals, etc.

N-rich leachate or it can be applied to land as a source of crop nutrients.

**5. Forage banking and meeting feed scarcity**

and N emission. Enhanced in vitro DM digestibility and low methane production


The author is thankful to NICRA and CSWRI under ICAR, New Delhi, for providing the facilities to undertake the work on silage.
