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Development and use of molecular genetic markers for enhancing the feeding value of cereal crop residues for ruminants

Project ID:
AS2/1997/098: Development and use of molecular genetic markers for enhancing the feeding value of cereal crop residues for ruminants
Collaborating Countries:
India, Pakistan
Commissioned Organisation:
International Livestock Research Institute, India
Project Leader
Dr Ercole Zerbini
Phone: 91 40 596 161
Fax: 91 40 241 239
Email: e.zerbini@cgnet.com
Collaborating Institutions:
  • CCS Haryana Agricultural University, India
  • CCS Haryana Agricultural University, India
  • International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, Syria
  • Tunisian National Institute for Agricultural Research, Tunisia
  • International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Colombia
  • International Livestock Research Institute, Kenya
  • National Research Institute for Agriculture, Morocco
  • International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics, India
  • Agriculture Victoria, Australia
  • La Trobe University, Australia
  • Cooperative Research Centre for Molecular Plant Breeding, Australia
Project Budget:
$150,000
Project Duration:
01/07/1998 - 30/06/2000
ACIAR Research Program Manager
Dr Bill Winter
Project Background and Objectives

Improving the nutritive value of straws and other crop residues is a priority research area for countries where smallholder farmers manage most ruminant livestock. The most important determinant of nutritive value is digestibility because it correlates highly with voluntary feed intake and thus indicates the quantity of digestible nutrients the animal is receiving. This project will develop a technique of genetic marking to assist mapping of desired traits in the grasses, as a basis for later manipulating the characteristics of cell walls of the residues to render them more digestible and thus to increase their nutritive value. The target species are two cereals (barley and pearl millet) and two pasture grasses (perennial ryegrass andBrachiaria).

Project Outcomes
Outcomes for this project are currently being prepared