Ludhiana
Scientists at the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, have noticed cases of nitrate poisoning during December, 2008, leading to the death of the cattle in Punjab. Since December 25 last year, weather in Punjab has been cloudy leading to increased uptake of nitrate by plants from the soil. So farmers have been advised not to use urea on fodder crops to increase the yield and mix the green fodder with wheat straw before feeding to cattle.
The department has many outbreaks of respiratory illness in dairy cattle in November and December 2008 leading to death of animals. So the farmers have also been advised to vaccinate their animals against HS and FMD from nearest Veterinary Hospital of the state. The farmers should keep their animals indoor, dry the floor by putting the rice straw on the floor and cover the animals with heavy clothes or rags, the release said.
