Agroclimatic Zones and Farming
India can be divided, on the basis of the agroclimatic conditions and the type of sheep, into 4 regions, viz. (1) the north-western, central arid and semi-arid region, (ii) the southern region, (iii) the eastern region, and (iv) the northern temperate region.
North-western, Central Arid and Semi-arid Region
This region comprises the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, the plains of Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. About 45-63 million hectares of land is under natural vegetation and is available for animal grazing. The major annual grasses of the region are Andropogon and Aristida species. The important perennial grasses are Cenchrus, Lasiurus, Panicum, Sehima, Andropogon, and Heteropogon species. The major shrubs and trees are Acacia, Albizia, Dicrostachys, Prosopis, and Hardwickia species. This region has the second largest sheep population (19-43 million; 40-25 percent of the total population; 1982 census). The annual wool production is 24-7 million kg (about 64-83 percent of the total wool produced)-3-9 million kg below 36, 12-0 million kg between 36 and 48, 8-8 million kg 485 and above in quality.
The important sheep breeds in this region are Chokla, Magra, Nali, Pugal, Marwari, Malpura, Sonadi, Jaisalmeri, Pattanwadi, Muzaffarnagari, Jalauni, and Hissardale. This region is most important for carpet wool production. Chokla and Pattanwadi produce good-quality carpet/medium-quality apparel wool. Malpura and Sonadi have extremely coarse and hairy fleeces and are to some extent used for milk. The other breeds produce medium to good-quality carpet wool.
Southern Region
This region is semi-arid in the central peninsular arca, and hot and humid along the coast. It comprises the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. About 34-90 million hectare area is available for natural grazing. The major annual grasses of the area are Aristida species, and the perennial grasses are Andropogon, Cenchrus, Chrysopogon, Dicanthium, Heteropogon, Schima, and Themeda species. Important fodder trees and shrubs are Acacia, Hardwickia, and Bauhinia species. This region has the largest sheep population (20-37 million; 40-20 percent of the total population). Almost 50 percent of the sheep in the region do not produce any wool. The rest produce extremely coarse, hairy, and colored fleece. Most of the sheep in the region are primarily maintained for meat and manure except Nilgiris. Nilgiris produce fleece of good quality. Their number is extremely small and is restricted to Nilgiri hills. Their rearing poses problems as shearing facilities are not available and disposal of wool is also a limiting factor. Nearly 7-3 million kg of wool, about 19-16 percent of the total produced in the country, is produced in this region. The wool is of below 36 quality, except for a small quantity produced by Nilgiri sheep which is above 48. The wool is thus suitable for extremely coarse carpets, barrack blankets, and handspun woven kumblies. Important breeds of sheep in this region are Deccani or Bellary, Nellore, Madras Red, Mandya, Trichi Black, Mecheri, Ramnad White, Nilgiri, Coimbatore, Kilaikarsal, Kenguri and Bangur. The Nellore is the tallest breed and Mandya, also known as Bandur or Bannur, is the shortest, and among the Indian breeds has the best meaty conformation. The majority of breeds in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, except Bellary or Deccani, fall within the range of height and color of Nellore and Mandya.
Eastern Region
This region comprises the states of Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland and Sikkim. It is mostly hot and humid, except for some parts of eastern states which are subtemperate and humid. About 30-48 million hectares of land with natural vegetation is available for grazing. The predominant annual grasses are Andropogon, Apluda, and Aristida species. The major perennial grasses are Dichanthium, Heteropogon, Sehima, and Themeda species. The important trees and shrubs are Acacia, Albizia, Bauhinia, and Terminalia species. This region has about 4-81 million sheep representing 9.96 percent of the total population. They produce about 1-4 million kg of wool, i.e. about 3-67 percent of India’s total wool production. Most of the wool is of below 36 quality except in the Tibetan sheep which produces good carpet-quality wool. The majority of the wool produced in the region is suitable only for extremely coarse carpets, blankets, and kumblies. The important breeds of sheep in the region are Shahabadi, Chhotanagpuri, Ganjam, Balangiri Bonpala, and Tibetan.
Northern Temperate Region
The Northern temperate region comprises Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and hilly regions of Uttar Pradesh. About 7-68 million hectares of land is available for natural grazing. Andropogon, Apluda, Aristida, and Setaria species among annual, and Dichanthium, Eragrostis, Heteropogon, and Themeda species among perennial are the main grasses found in the region except in the Alpine pastures where temperate grasses and legumes, viz. Red and White clover and ryegrass, are found. The important fodder trees and shrubs are Acacia, Bauhinia, Morus, Terminalia, and Zizyphus species. This region has 3-66 million sheep and accounts for 7-58 percent of the total population. It produces about 4-7 million kg of wool (12-33 percent). Of this, about 1-0 million kg is of 36 to 48 quality and 3-7 million kg is of 48 and above quality. Important breeds of sheep in the region are Rampur Bushair, Gaddi, Gurez, Karnah, Bhakarwal, Poonchi, and Changthangi. The largest population of crossbred sheep primarily developed for apparel wool is in this region. In Jammu & Kashmir the crossbred sheep, mostly Merino crosses with variable levels of Merino inheritance known as Kashmir Merino, constitute almost 50 percent of the population.