Leaves and shoots are extensively lopped for fodder. In a survey of smallholder farmers in the Garhwal Himalaya (Northern Himalaya), Quercus floribunda was judged the top-ranking fodder species in oak-dominated zones, with the best marks for nutritive value and milk production capacity, though the tree was less abundant and less used for fodder than Quercus leucotrichophora (Dhani Arya et al., 2011). In Central Himalaya, fresh green oak foliage is lopped and fed during the summer months (mid-March to mid-June) to stall-fed buffaloes but not to dairy cows and goats, which are fed forest grass (Makino, 2009). In North-Western Himalaya, Quercus floribunda is lopped from November to March to be fed fresh during winter to all types of livestock (Rawat et al., 2011). In Northern Pakistan, the leaves of Quercus incana and Quercus floribunda at higher elevations remain green throughout the winter and are the only source of green foliage for wintering livestock (Inam-Ur-Rahim et al., 2011). The utilization of the leaves depends on local beliefs. In Northern Pakistan, the leaves of Quercus floribunda are fed only to non-milking and non-pregnant goats and cattle because of a belief that they would reduce milk production and induce abortion in pregnant animals (Inam-Ur-Rahim et al., 2011). On the contrary, in Garhwal Himalaya, Quercus floribunda leaves are valued by farmers for dairy and pregnant cattle (Rajwar, 1993).
There is little information available on the nutritional value of moru oak foliage. Data from 1938 show a rather low OM digestibility of about 45%, a figure confirmed more recently by in vitro measurements (Sen, 1938 ; Inam-Ur-Rahim et al., 2011). In a comparison of the nitrogen solubility, protein fractions, tannins and in sacco DM digestibility of 11 tree fodder species commonly available in Shivalik range, India, Quercus floribunda was not cited among the recommended fodders (Sharma et al., 2000).
