Assessment of molybdenum status in soil and forage for ruminant production under semiarid environmental conditions in Sargodha, Pakistan.

The present investigation was carried out to determine the molybdenum (Mo) status of soil and forage at the Livestock Experimental Station, Khizer abad, Sargodha, Pakistan. This site falls under semiarid climatic conditions. Soil and forage samples were collected on a monthly basis during the winter season (from October through January) and analyzed after wet digestion to determine the effect of sampling intervals on Mo content as well as its transfer from soil to forage during the whole study period. The effect of sampling intervals on soil Mo content was found to be highly significant, but in contrast, this effect on forage Mo was nonsignificant. The Mo content of soil was found to be highly sufficient to meet the requirement of forage crops, whereas those of forage at the borderline of the ruminant requirement is insufficient. It is expected that with time, further depletion of Mo in the pasture soil due to interaction with Cu and other antagonistic elements may take place, which could finally lower Mo levels in the forage being used for rearing livestock. Thus, at some stage in the future, addition of standard fertilizers enriched with Mo to the soils may be required at the livestock farm.