Chauhan, N. B.GOHIL, ASHOKKUMAR MANILAL2018-06-062018-06-062005http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810049363The animal keepers are known in carrying out experiments with plants, animals and natural resources available around them. The information thus, gained by them over a period of time during their everyday experiments with natural resources has been passing by casual way of wisdom from generation to generation by words of mouth. This information in today's parlance is called local knowledge, traditional knowledge, traditional wisdom or simply indigenous knowledge. Indigenous knowledge contains both technical and non-technical fields covering various social and religious taboos, beliefs, customs, communication pattern, music, ecology, vegetation, climate and monsoon. Indigenous knowledge is mostly transferred through the socio-cultural system and it is sustained and developed through the spoken traditions, folk talks, proverbs etc. It is summation of knowledge based on people's accumulated experience and experiments in dealing with situations and problems in a variety of aspects of existence. India has prosperous plant medical cultures in the world. It is uselessness that though numerous medicinal plants exist in all most all villages of rural India, they have remained unexploited due to difficulties regarding recognition and lack of familiarity about medicinal value of the plant materials. It is therefore necessary to have adequate and reliable information on existing situation. With a view to analyzing this, present study on application of indigenous knowledge of plant materials was undertaken in light of the following objectives. 1. To study profile of the animal keepers. 2. To measure the existing indigenous knowledge of the animal keepers about medicinal value of the selected plant materials for animal health treatment. 3. To study the adoption pattern of the animal keepers about medicinal values of the selected plant materials for animal health treatment. 4. To find out relationship between profile of the animal keepers and their indigenous knowledge about medicinal value of the selected plant materials for animal health treatment. 5. To find out relationship between profile of the animal keepers and their adoption about medicinal values of selected plant materials for animal health treatment. 6. To analyze constraints faced by the animal keepers in identification and adoption of medicinal values of plants available around them. 7. To seek the suggestions of the animal keepers to improve their existing status of knowledge and adoption of medicinal values of plants available around them. The methodological procedure consisted of dependent and independent variables, setting and selection of the respondents, analysis of data and various statistical measures used to test the hypothesis. To measure the knowledge of animal keepers about the indigenous medicinal values of the selected plant materials, four types of information was collected for each plant; their knowledge was measured in terms of identification of the plants, awareness about season of availability, which particular part of pants is useful for medicinal purpose and usefulness of plant to treat various diseases of animals. The adoption of plant/ plant material to treat particular disease was measured in three ways as "did not use any time", "used once" and "used more than one time". To measure the selected independent variables the scales developed by various researchers were used with slightly modifications. The present investigation was carried out on a random sample of total 150 animal keepers. The data were collected with the help of structural schedule by personal interview method. The data so collected were coded, classified, tabulated and analyzed in order to make the findings meaningful. MAJOR FINDINGS 1. Majority (51.33 per cent) of the animal keepers had old age, education up to the primary and secondary level (68.67 per cent), above 20 years of farming and animal husbandry experience (65.33 per cent), low level of organizational participation (78.00 per cent), 5 to 8 member in their family (60.67 per cent), nuclear type of family (54.00 per cent), eldest person in their family up to the age of 60 years (60.00 per cent), medium level of extension contact (86.67 per cent), farming and animal husbandry as major occupations (88.67 per cent), up to 4 ha of land holding (57.34 per cent), above 3 animals (52.66 per cent), low level of annual income (56.67 per cent), medium level of cosmopoliteness (82.67 per cent) and medium level of non-fatalism (75.34 per cent). 2. The great majority (58.00 per cent) of the animal keepers opined that the plants are highly useful to eradicate majority of the animal diseases (58.00 per cent), effect shown by plant materials for animal health treatment is very slow but they like to use it (95.33 per cent), indigenous use of plant materials for animal health treatment is not difficult (68.00 per cent), indigenous use of plant materials for animal health treatment is better than allopathic medicines (58.00 per cent), medicinal plants are health promoter for animal health so, they prefer it (100.00 per cent), plants are very cheap for animal health treatment (100.00 per cent). The neutral opinion was received from the majority (70.66 per cent) of them for the statement indigenous medicinal usages of plants do not require more technical knowledge. There was medium point of overall opinion towards the application of selected plants materials for animal health treatment (81.33 per cent). 3. The cent per cent (100.00 per cent) of the animal keepers had knowledge regarding the identification of the plants like Limbdo, Chanothi, Ardusa, Kunvar patho, Suva, Sitaphal, Kachka, Akado, Kuvadiyo, Dhaturo, Vad, Dodi, Tulsi, Isabgul, Gokhru and Ajmo. While majority of them had knowledge regarding identification of the plants like Anghedo (98.00 per cent), Darudi (92.66 per cent), Satavari (75.33 per cent) and Panfutti (72.00 per cent). 4. The cent per cent (100.00 per cent) of the animal keepers had knowledge regarding the season of availability of Limbdo, Chanothi, Ardusa, Kunvar patho, Suva, Sitaphal, Kachka, Akado, Kuvadiyo, Dhaturo, Vad, Dodi, Tulsi, Isabgul, Gokhru, and Ajmo. 5. The cent per cent (100.00 per cent) of the animal keepers had knowledge regarding which particular part of plant is useful for animal health treatment. These plants were Limbdo, Suva, Tulsi, Isabgul and Ajmo. While majority of them had similar knowledge for Sitaphal (99.33 per cent), Akado (99.33 per cent), Dodi (98.66 per cent) Kunvar patho (97.33 per cent), Ardusa (96.00 per cent), Anghedo (92.00 per cent), Vad (89.33 per cent), Dhaturo (97.33 per cent), Chanothi (69.33 per cent), Gokhru (66.66 per cent) and Darudi (60.00 per cent). 6. Majority of the animal keepers had indigenous knowledge of usages of Limbdo for animal health treatment like tumors, skin diseases and cough by 93.33, 82.00, 82.00 and 18.66 per cent, Chanothi for dropping of placenta by 68.00 per cent, Anghedo for the treatment of skin eruption by 76.66 per cent, Ardusa for skin diseases and diarrhoea by 74.66 and 55.33per cent, Kunvar patho for tumors, skin diseases and eye diseases by 84.00, 75.33 and 55.33 per cent, Suva for abdominal pains and urine pains by 100.00 and 88.66 per cent, Sitaphal for foot and mouth diseases and de-worming by 97.33 Mid 54.66 per cent, Darudi for itching by 53.33 per cent, Akado for removing swelling and tumors by 98.00 and 56.00 per cent, Dhaturo for the treatment of asthma by 82.66, per cent, Vad for diarrhoea by 89.33 per cent, Dodi for the treatment of eye diseases by 90.67 per cent, Isabgul for the treatment of dysentery, mild astringent and diarrhoea by 100.00, 99.33 and 92.00 per cent, Gokharu for urinary calculosis by 63.33 per cent and Ajmo for the treatment of dyspepsia in animal by 100.00 per cent, respectively. 7. The level of adoption by animal keepers regarding plant materials for animal health treatment was observed better for those plants which were available around them such as Limbdo was adopted more than once to treat their animal for tumors by (91.33 per cent), skin disease (78.67 per cent), cough (80.66 per cent) and for leprosy (14.00 per cent). Chanothi was used for dropping of placenta (56.66 per cent), Anghedo for removing worm (33.33 per cent) and skin eruption (72.00 per cent), Ardusa for diarrhoea (48.00 per cent), skin disease (68.67 per cent) and dysentery (34.67 per cent), Kunvar patho for tumors (62.66 per cent) and skin disease (57.33 per cent). Suva for abdominal pain (97.33 per cent) and urine pains (86.67 per cent). Other plant like Sitaphal was adopted more than once for deworming (44,00 per cent) and foot and mouth disease (94.00 per cent), Darudi was adopted for the treatment of their animal disease like itching (44.67 per cent), Kachka for treatment of body heating (33.34 per cent), Akado for tumors (53.33 per cent), skin disease (38.67 per cent) and remove swelling (93.34 per cent), Dhaturo for asthma (74.66 per cent), fever (34.00 per cent), skin disease (28.67 per cent), Vad in diarrhoea (80.00 per cent) and dysentery (37.33 per cent), Dodi for increasing milk (21.33 per cent), eye diseases (82.66 per cent) and inducing heat (42.00 per cent), Isabgul for dysentery (100.00 per cent), mild astringent (99.33 per cent) and diarrhoea (89.33 per cent), Gokhru for urinary calculosis (46.00 per cent) and kidney disease (24.00 per cent), where as Ajmo was used in case of dyspepsia by majority of (98.67 per cent) the animal keepers. 8. The indigenous knowledge of the animal keepers about the medicinal values of the selected plant materials was significantly correlated with their age, farming experience, animal husbandry experience and size of family. 9. The level of adoption of indigenous knowledge of the animal keepers about the medicinal values of the selected plant materials was significantly correlated with their age, farming experience, animal husbandry experience and opinion. 10. The major constraints faced by the animal keepers in adoption of plant materials for anunal health treatment in decreasing order of rank were; inadequate training exposure on indigenous uses of plants for animal health treatment, camp on animal health treatment by indigenous plant materials are not arranged at village level, poor campaigning of medicinal uses of plant materials for animal health treatment, unavailability of information from VLWs on medicinal usages of plant materials for animal health treatment and lack of exhibited live specimens of plants useful for animal health treatment. 11. Major suggestion expressed by the animal keepers to encourage indigenous medicinal uses of plants among animal keepers were; medicinal uses of plant for animal health treatment should be exhibited by maintaining live museum at public places like temple or school, available medicinal plants at village level are collect and arrangement for animal health treatments, need to organize training camp at village level, information on medicinal uses of plants should be given in school and Gram Panchayat through charts and posters, need to arrange exhibition showing importance of plants for animal health at village level and need to arrange visits of the botanical garden to create awareness among animal keepers about the medicinal uses of plants for animal health treatments.enExtension Education, AgricultureA StudyThesis