EFFECTS OF NITROGEN ON GROWTH, FODDER YIELD AND SILAGE OF MAIZE AND JUMBO FODDER WITH COWPEA AS INTER CROPPING
M. J. KHATUN, M. R. ISLAM, M. K. I. KHAN, AND M. EBRAHIMI
Department of Animal Science,
Faculty of Agriculture, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM,
Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
*(e-mail : kik1775@yahoo.co.uk)
(Received : 18 September 2016; Accepted : 29 September 2016)
SUMMARY
Two field experiments were conducted to know the effect of different doses of nitrogen fertilizer on the growth, botanical parameters and yield of maize and jumbo fodder cultivated with cowpea as inter crop and evaluation of silage. The experimental plots for Jumbo with cowpea and maize with cowpea were applied to nitrogen (N2) levels as urea 0, 100, 150kg ha-1 and 0, 150, 220 kg/ha, respectively. Significant differences were observed between treatments and control after applying N2 fertilizer. In 75days, maximum plant length 146.85cm, stem length 126.99cm, dry matter (DM) yield 16.78t/ha, fresh yield 20.10t/ha, crude protein (CP)13%, acid detergent fiber (ADF) 59.50%, ash 12.5% and sundry matter (SDM) 88.5% were observed of Maize after applying 220kg urea/ha. In 75days, higher values of these parameters were obtained for jumbo after applying150kg urea/ha. Higher DM and CP content were found with Cowpea silage (95.18% vs 92.78% and 14.78% vs 6.35%) compared to Maize with Cowpea silage. To meet up the shortage of fodder for livestock priority should be given to cultivate of Maize with Cowpea and the recommended doses of nitrogen was 220 kg urea/ha for maize and 150 kg urea/ha for jumbo.
Key words: Fodder, nitrogen fertilizer, silage quality, yield