Methane emission and its mitigation

Objective

• To study the effect of long term supplementation (rotational) of proven methane ameliorating agents on enteric methanogenesis and rumen microbial population
• Developing and testing of slow release nitrate sources with/without sulfur combination to study their efficacy on rumen methane reduction
• To study the underlying mechanism of association between protozoa and methanogens and designing biomolecules for facilitating the disassociation between these two
• To compare the enteric methane emission among indigenous and crossbred cattle and buffaloes fed on similar feeding regimes. 

Methods

• Ameliorative measures for the effective and persistent enteric methane reduction for long duration by rotational and intermittent feeding of proven/established sources and overcoming the issue of methanogen resistance to the supplementation
  • Comprehensive data on the effectiveness of ameliorative measures by comparing short and long term impact on methane emission
  • First-hand information on the persistency of mitigation effect after withdrawal of the supplementation of test sources        
• Development of slow release nitrate source, their optimum dose of supplementation and methods for managing fermentative hydrogen effectively, without any adverse effect on the residing microbes and host animal
• Biomolecules for blocking the adherence of rumen methanogens and protozoa to prevent interspecies hydrogen transfer and thereby reducing methane emission  
• First-hand information on the variability in enteric methane emission among indigenous cattle and crossbred cattle and buffaloes when fed on the same dietary regimes.

Expected outcomes

• Set of practices for the long-term methane amelioration using proven methane ameliorative agents
• Slow release nitrate source for supplementation in cattle and buffalo for reducing methanogenesis
• Bio-molecules for preventing the adherence of methanogens-protozoa