Background:
To overcome the problems of energy dependent hydroponic fodder units like high cost of production (capital, depreciation and running costs), necessity for regular supply of electricity, risk of mould growth etc., acost-effective method was developed. Ituseslocally available dry crop residue as bedding materialto produce mould-free sproutswith minimum waterusage bycontrolledmanual water spraying. Technology Details:
Good quality grains like maize/wheat/horse gram need to be cleaned with water and soaked in a bucket of water for a day. Later, these wet grains are removed from the bucket andplacedin 4% vinegar solution for about 30 minutes to prevent the mold growth. Later, these grains are taken out and kept tightly packed in wet cloth for 24 to 36 hours in a dark place to ensure rapid germination. The grains are transferred on to half inch-thick straw beds made with locally available chaffedstraw of rice or wheat or bajra and placed in plastic trays with fine holes. The trays are housed in a shelf made with locally available materials like bamboo or Eucalyptus. The shelf with 4 racks secured on all sides with PVC coated galvanized iron net costs Rs.3,000. Germinated grains are placed on straw beds and spray bottle is used to apply water 4 times a day in places with moderate climate, and up to 7times in hot and dry places. The grains are grown in sun light for about 6 days till the seedlings are 4 to 5 inches tall. The thick mat ofmould-freegrain sprouts along with straw bed is taken out and fed to the livestock. About 8 liters of water is needed to obtain over4 kg of sprouts from1 kg of maize grains. Tests done by Krishi Vigyan Kendras in 4 states have shown that by feeding 4 kg ofgrainsprouts per day during green fodder scarcity periods, the milk yield improved byabout one literper day per cow. It costs just Rs.4 to produce one kg maize sprouts with NIANP's technology. This simple and low-cost technology is very effective and adopted by several farmers.