FOOD-HABITS OF MILLARDIA-MELTADA (RODENTIA, MURIDAE) IN THE CROPLANDSOF CENTRAL PUNJAB (PAKISTAN)

An analysis of the stomach contents of 196 specimens of Millardia melt ada, snap-trapped from different farm crops of central Punjab during t he period extending from August, 1988 through June, 1989, revealed tha t wheat was the most dominant component of the rat's diet as 35.66 % o f the annual diet was due to this item alone. Lucern (10.82 %), sugarc ane (10.82 %), sorghum (10.82 %), Trifolium (8.27 %), and Chenopodium (7.63 %) were among the other important staples of the rat's diet. Ani mal food constituted only 0.63 % of the annual diet. Wheat predominate d in the spring (82.73 %) as well as the summer diet (63.98 %). Sugarc ane became an important component in the fall diet (13.15 %), but it g ained predominance later in winter (33.10 %). Because of predominance of wheat, the spring diet was least diversified, whereas the fall diet was the most diversified one. Besides seasons, the habitat of capture in the farm lands considerably influenced the rat's diet. The total a nnual diet of the rat comprised mainly of vegetative parts of plants v iz., leaves (15 %), stems (51 %), and roots (4 %) ; the contribution o f seeds and grains being only 27 %.