No abstract

No abstract

Aflatoxin M 1 contamination of milk in Pakistan, like many developing countries, is poorly understood. The present study was therefore conducted to determine AFM 1 contamination of milk and its contributory factors in Pakistan. We sampled milk and feedstuffs from 450 peri-urban dairy farms in seven major cities following a cross-sectional study design. Analysis of milk using ELISA revealed high contamination with an overall average of 3164.5 ng of AFM 1 /L, and significant differences (p < 0.001) between cities. The milk sampled from Gilgit, in northern hilly areas, had an average AFM 1 level of 92.5 ng/L. Milk from other cities had 3529.7 ng/L average contamination, with only 5.7% samples qualifying the maximum tolerable limit of 500 ng of AFM 1 /L. Heavy mean aflatoxin contamination was found in bakery waste (724.6 μg/kg), and cottonseed cake (600.8 μg/kg). Rest of the other feedstuffs had moderate to low mean aflatoxin contamination, ranging from 66.0 μg/kg in maize stover to 3.4 μg/kg in wheat bran. The mean aflatoxin level in commercial dairy concentrates was 32.7 µg/kg. About 80% of the total aflatoxin intake of dairy animals was contributed by cottonseed cake alone due to its high aflatoxin contamination and proportion in dairy rations. On-farm storage time of oilseed cakes varied (p < 0.01) in different cities but was not associated with aflatoxin contamination. The exceptionally high AFM 1 contamination suggests that milk from peri-urban dairy farms is a serious public health threat in Pakistan. This situation can be mitigated by reducing aflatoxin contamination in cottonseed cake and promoting the use of commercial concentrates and other feedstuffs with low contamination.

Country level assessment of feed supply and demand for livestock in Pakistan was conducted for the year 2013. Availability of feed ingredients was calculated from the official crop production statistics using published harvest index and extraction ratios, and their nutrient supply was estimated from local feed composition tables. Feed requirements of livestock species were calculated from the standard tables published by US National Research Council. The results showed that indigenous feed resources were short for livestock and poultry requirements. The supply and demand gap for dry biomass, crude protein (CP) and metabolizable energy (ME) were 19.4%, 37.2% and 38.0%, respectively. Crop residues were the predominant source comprising 58.8% of the total feed supply, while fodder and grazing shared 23.8% and 9.2%, respectively. Grains and by-products contributed 8.2% to the feed supply. In attempt to fill this gap, large quantities of oilseed meals were imported mainly for the poultry sector. Maize was the major feed grain used in poultry and ruminant rations, and they together consumed 79% of the country's total maize produce. Based on the anticipated rapid expansion in poultry, dairy and feedlot farming in Pakistan, the feed gap will further enlarge and this warrants future focus on efficient and intensive utilization of the local conventional and nonconventional feed resources. The data and information presented in this paper provided a sound basis for regular updating in future to attain sustainable growth of livestock sector in the country.

Mango is known as the second most important fruit crop in Pakistan after citrus. Pakistani mangoes are famous globally for their unique sweet taste and are exported to the Middle East, China, Afghanistan, and different European countries. Although mangoes have been cultivated in Punjab, Pakistan since ancient times, yield of mangoes is still very low, about 8-10 tons per hectare. Successful pollination is required to achieve a bumper crop. In this regard, an experiment was conducted at Mango Research Institute, Multan to understand the role of insects' in successful pollination and fruit setting in Southern Punjab-Pakistan. The experiment consisted of three varieties (Sindhri, Retaul No.12, and SB Chaunsa) and two treatments (netted and open trees). The netted trees of each variety were covered with mosquito net before initiation of flowering, while the open trees of the same varieties were not covered with net. Overall, we found that insects are necessary for pollination and fruit setting. There was no fruit setting i.e. zero fruits per panicle in netted trees where the insects could not visit, the inflorescence during peak period. Maximum fruit setting occurred on trees where the trees were not covered with net. The most abundant insect was blue bottle flies. The other insects in the order of abundance were house flies, syrphid flies, native drones, zebra flies, stingless bees, bumble bee, wild bees, and flesh flies. Honey bees Apis florea can be utilized as the pollinator but honey bee species A. dorsata, and A. melliferae visitation was almost negligible. The total value of insect pollination was estimated as 1299 million dollars. Overall, this is the first study describing the role of pollinators in successful fruit setting in southern Punjab Pakistan and describing the pollinating insects of mango orchards during peak flowering season.