SATPAL, B. GANGAIAH, S. DEVI, N. KHAROR, K. K. BHARDWAJ, P. KUMARI AND B. L. SHARMA
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding (Forage Section), Department of Botany & Plant Physiology, Department of Soil Science
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004 (Haryana), India
ICAR – Indian Institute of Millets Research, Hyderabad-500030 (Telangana), India
*(e-mail : satpal.fpj@gmail.com)
(Received: 11 March 2026; Accepted: 30 March 2026)
SUMMARY
A field experiment was conducted to study the impact four graded levels of recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) in main plot i.e. 0, 50, 100 and 150% with 80.0-17.5-33.2 kg N-P-K/ha as RDF on fodder productivity, quality and economics of six sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] genotypes (2 single cut non-BMR forage hybrids i.e. SPH 2057 with CSH 40F as check and 2 brown mid rib (BMR) genotypes i.e. SPV 3089 with CSV 43BMR as check and 2 Hurda sorghum genotypes i.e. PKV Ashwini and PDKV Kartiki) in sub-plot at Hisar (Haryana), India during kharif season of 2025 using Split plot design with two replications. Results revealed that non-BMR hybrid ‘SPH 2057’ with 41.6 and 9.9 t/ha of green and dry fodder yields has excelled all the other types of genotypes but on a par with hybrid check CSH 40F only and was promising from crude protein and net income point of view also. Among BMR genotypes, SPV 3089 with 29.2 and 6.9 t/ha of green and dry fodder yields has excelled its check CSV 43BMR by 43.8 and 38.0%, respectively. Higher fodder yield of ‘SPV 3089’ over its check was due to its tall plants and more leaf to stem ratio. HCN content was the least in ‘SPH 2057’ (35.82 μg/g) and the highest (65.36 μg/g) in ‘PKV Ashwini’. Highest fodder producing genotype (SPH 2057) was more depletive of soil nutrients (NPK). Among RDF levels, significant improvement was seen in chlorophyll content (SPAD units) values only with 150% RDF application over RDF and thus RDF was best for realizing not only the fodder yield but also returns. Fertilizers (RDF) have contributed to 63.4, 58.5 and 46.4% green, dry fodder yield and B:C enhancements at the test site as compared to 0% RDF i.e. unfertilized control (21.6, 5.3 t/ha and 1.12). Inherent soil fertility (0% RDF) has contributed to 68.3-5.5-57.6 kg/ha N-P-K uptake of forage sorghum crop producing highest dry fodder/kg NPK uptake (77.6-963.8-91.8 kg fodder / kg N-P-K) and uptake increased 2.06-3.27-1.82 times with RDF use. HCN content increased from 36.04 to 67.40 μg/g as RDF increased from 0 to 150%. It is concluded that single cut forage sorghum hybrid ‘SPH 2057’ and ‘CSH 40F’ are promising while ‘SPV 3089’ and ‘PDKV Kartiki’ are promising among BMR and hurda genotypes, respectively for fodder purpose. Application of 100% RDF (80.0-17.5-33.2 kg/ha N-P-K) was recommended for higher fodder yield, quality and income. Study proves that scope lies for selecting hybrids for higher crude protein yields at lower fertilizer levels.
Key words: Sorghum, single-cut, forage, brown mid rib (BMR), hurda sorghum, genotypes, fertilizer levels, fodder yield, HCN and crude protein