GREESHMA U., USHA C. THOMAS, SHALINI PILLAI P., G. GAYATHRI, SAFEER M. M. AND PRATHEESH P GOPINATH
Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani (Kerala), India
Instructional Farm, College of Agriculture, Vellayani (Kerala), India
Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani (Kerala), India
AICRP on Forage crops & Utilization, COA, Vellayani (Kerala), India
Instructional Farm, College of Agriculture, Vellayani (Kerala), India
Department of Agrl. Statistics, College of Agriculture, Vellayani (Kerala), India *(e-mail: greeshmaudayan96@gmail.com)
(Received: 12 November 2024; Accepted: 30 December 2024)
SUMMARY
A field experiment was conducted at Instructional farm, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala during the period March 2023 to August 2024 to standardize the irrigation levels for popular bajra napier hybrid varieties in Kerala. The experiment was laid out in split plot with 4 irrigation levels as main plot and 3 varieties as subplot, replicated thrice. The treatment comprised of 4 irrigation levels (i1 – IW/CPE 1.0, i2 – IW/CPE 0.8, i3 – IW/CPE 0.6 and i4 – Rainfed) and 3 varieties (v1 – Susthira, v2 – Suguna, and v3 – CO-5. Results revealed that irrigation at IW/CPE 1.0 produced the tallest plants (198.02 cm), highest tiller number (17.01 per hill), and largest leaf area (232.04 cm2), significantly improving GFY and DFY. Variety CO-5 outperformed others, achieving the highest total GFY (186.74 t/ha) and DFY (39.05 t/ha). Interaction effects showed optimal yields with CO-5 under IW/CPE 0.8 (206.06 t/ha GFY) and IW/CPE 1.0 (52.46 t/ha DFY). The study concluded that CO-5 cultivated with IW/CPE 1.0 irrigation is ideal for maximizing fodder productivity in southern Kerala, ensuring consistent feed availability and efficient water use.
Key words: Bajra napier hybrid, fodder, irrigation level, variety