Arsenic Content in Animal Feeds in Different Districts of Haryana

In order to assess the status of arsenic (As) in various animal feeds, berseem, oats fodder, wheat straw, paddy straw, concentrate mixture/ingredients and mineral mixture samples were collected from all the nineteen districts of Haryana classified into eastern (1) and western (2) zones on the basis of agro-climatic conditions. Arsenic content of berseem ranged from 0.25 to 0.63 ppm (DM basis) in zone 1 and from 0.29 to 0.85 ppm in zone 2 of Haryana and the overall mean in both the zones was 0.43 ppm. As content of oats fodder in respective zone varied from 0 to 0.53 (mean, 0.39 ppm) and 0.30 to 0.57 ppm (mean, 0.44 ppm). As level in paddy straw appeared to be somewhat higher in zone 1 than in zone 2 (0.65 vs 0.56 ppm). Concentrate ingredients contained As in the range of 0.38 to 0.44 ppm. As content of all the feeds and fodders was within the normal range and far below the maximum dietary tolerable limit recommended by NRC, which is 50 mg for inorganic and 100 mg/kg DM for organic As, thereby rendering the feeds fit for animal consumption in Haryana.