Contents: Forward. Preface. 1. Forage production and feeding during scarcity/S.A. Patil and Suresh C. Alagundagi. 2. Forage resource management in arid and semi arid regions/P.S. Pathak, G. Suresh and R.K. Bhatt. 3. Managing drought stress for augmenting forage productivity in arid Western Rajasthan /Pratap Narain and M.P. Rajora. 4. Fodder/grasses under horticulture plantations in arid and semi-arid regions of India/D.G. Dhandar and R.S. Singh. 5. Arid and semi arid regions of the country/A.K. Misra, S.S. Kundu and G.H. Pailan. 6. Livestock raising in arid and semi-arid zones: a perspective/V.K. Singh and A.K. Shinde. 7. Agroforestry for forage production/S.K. Dhyani, Ajit and A.K. Handa. 8. Diversity of domesticated herbivores/S.P.S. Ahlawat and S.C. Gupta. 9. Modelling silvipastoral systems/P.S. Pathak and T.A. Khan. 10. Halophytic forages for salty soils in deserts/J.C. Dagar. 11. Densification of roughages/S.S. Kundu and M.M. Das. 12. Grasses as ecological imperatives for dry regions of India/J.P. Singh and V.S. Rathore. 13. Forage crops and cropping systems of arid and semi-arid regions/N.K. Sharma. 14. Environmental stress on livestock in arid and semi arid regions/S.V. Singh and R.C. Upadhyay. 15. Micronutrient status of livestock feeds of arid regions/K.K. Singh, A.K. Samanta and S.S. Kundu. 16. Mineral bioavailability from forages/S.S. Kundu and Ranjan Kumar. 17. Multipurpose trees as forage resources/S.N. Jaimini, S.B.S. Tikka and J.M. Patel. 18. Feed and forage resources for camel/M.S. Sahani, Arvind Bhardwaj, B.D. Kiradoo and Ramkumar. 19. Lean period forages in arid and semi-arid zones of India/J.S. Mann and S.C. Sharma. 20. Livestock feeding in Rajasthan/S.A. Karim. 21. Dryland forage seed resource/S.N. Tripathi. 22. Problems and prospects of forage production and utilization in Rajasthan/R.K. Jain and R.P. Nagar. 23. Domestic animal diversity dry regions/B.P. Kushwaha and S.S. Kundu. 24. Economics of small ruminant production in dry regions/Shalander Kumar and N.P. Singh. 25. Technologies for mitigating stresses: alternative land uses in semi-arid regions/Y.S. Rama Krishna and J.V. Rao. 26. Camel, their relevance in developing farming systems in arid regions of India/A.K. Nagpal and M.S. Sahani. 27. Technological innovations for augmenting forage resources for dry regions/S.A. Faruqui, D.N. Singh and Sunil Kumar. 28. Grasses of Banni Pastureland of kutch and its management/S.B.S. Tikka, S.N. Jamini and V.R. Patel. 29. Livestock vis-a-vis fodder resources in the State of Rajasthan/Sanjita Sharma and Vishnu Sharma. 30. Densification of complete feed/Bharat Sharma, Sudhir Gupta and D.D. Sharma. 31. Intellectual Property Right (IPR) issues in livestock farming/Sultan Singh, S.S. Kundu, Sushila Kundu and G.H. Pailan. 32. Top feed resources in arid region of India/L.N. Harsh. 33. Water and soil conservation for augmenting forage supply in ravines and other grasslands/M.L. Gaur.

"During the tenth plan, a growth rate of 4 percent or more is being targeted as a national policy in agriculture. To achieve this, livestock production is being focused as a source of livelihood and income generation for farmers. The arid and semi-arid regions constituting about 40% area of the country, are comparatively less developed and therefore kept as key response area. Since feeding livestock cost more than 60 per cent, and there exists huge deficit of forage and feed supply, the present book is very timely and important for these areas. The chapters on feed and forage resources their nutritive value and utilization, grassland development, top feeds. Livestock biodiversity, natural resources, conservation, feed quality and IPR issues under WTO have been covered. The book will thus serve as a repository of information and will be very useful for researchers, livestock owners, students and planners for dry regions."