Manipulation of Rumen Microorganisms | Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science Optional for UPSC PDF Download

Manipulation of Rumen Microorganisms

• Rumen microorganisms are being genetically engineered to enhance rumen productivity in developing nations.
• In many developing countries, ruminants primarily consume fibrous feeds and cereal crop residues with low digestibility.
• The key goal of manipulating rumen organisms is to improve the digestibility of fibrous feeds to boost livestock productivity.

Challenges in Developing Countries

• Ruminants fed with low-digestibility fibrous feeds exhibit poor productivity, including slow growth, delayed maturity, low reproduction rates, reduced milk yield, and small mature body size.
• Productivity challenges can be partially addressed through supplementation to ensure a balanced nutrient intake for ruminal organism growth and efficient nutrient utilization by the animal.

Impact of Digestibility on Productivity

• A small increase in the digestibility of fibrous forage can significantly enhance livestock productivity.
• Improving forage digestibility through supplementation strategies and technology could potentially boost ruminant productivity by up to five times.