Feed Supplements reduces methane emission by livestock

An Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institute has developed an anti-methanogenic feed supplement ‘Harit Dhara’.
When given to bovines and sheep, it not only cuts down their methane emissions by 17-20%, but also results in higher milk production and body weight gain.
Methane is produced by animals having rumen, the first of their four stomachs where the plant material they eat gets fermented or broken down by microorganisms.
Carbohydrate fermentation leads to production of CO2 and hydrogen. These are used as substrate by archaea – microbes in the rumen with structure similar to bacteria – to produce methane.
Harit Dhara acts by decreasing the population of protozoa microbes in the rumen, responsible for hydrogen production
Tropical plants containing tannins are known to suppress or remove protozoa from the rumen.

Why do we need methane reduction ?

Methane’s global warming potential is 25 times of carbon dioxide (CO2) over 100 years.
Indian Livestock produces more Methane as compared to livestock of Industrialised Nations.
Reason: Indian livestock feeds more on Agricultural residues- Wheat/Paddy/Bajra/Jwar.