Relationship between soil, plants and animals with respect to micro-nutrients (a case study in buffalo)

The study was conducted at Livestock Farm (Rakh Ghulama) located at District Bhakkher with the collaboration of Department of Botany, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, and Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) and Department of Livestock, Government of the Punjab to determine the translocation of mineral nutrients from soil to plants and from plants to animals. The samples were collected fortnightly during winter and summer seasons of 2001 from soil, plants and buffalo reared at farm for high milk production. The influence of soil mineral nutrients on plant growth and their translocation to animals through plant and feed was estimated by analyzing soil, plants fodder and different samples of blood plasma, milk, urine and faeces taken from both lactating and non-lactating buffaloes. Soil analysis showed that it was sandy soil and had varying concentrations of different nutrients analyzed but in plants, concentration of K+ and Ca2+ was low whereas that of Fe2+ was high and the remaining all the elements were within critical range. The trace elements such as copper and iron were excreted more through faeces because animals had low absorption for these trace elements or for their body requirements. Apparently digested potassium was not found in milk in high amount, because it was excreted through urine. Calcium concentration was transferred more to milk as compared to urine and plasma. Manganese concentration was higher in urine than that in milk, but the reverse was true with zinc. Chloride in urine was higher as compared to others, such as plasma, milk, and faeces. Those elements which had more absorption capacity had been excreted more in urine and plasma, and thus their amount was in low in the body, high and in the faeces. The findings of our studies showed that the elements present in the soil were translocated in animals, through feeding. They were distributed in different constituents of animal body and their concentrations were dependent on the rate of absorption in the body. The mineral nutrients of soils, herbage and animals showed a similar tendency. The mineral nutrients concentration of herbage of each pasture was lower than that of normal requirements and that of plasma, milk, urine and faeces was not to sufficient level with respect to mineral nutrient. From this study it can be concluded that buffaloes raised at this farm were in chronic mineral deficiency and thus mineral supplementation was suggested to increase the productivity of buffaloes at that farm.