QUALITY OF FODDER MAIZE IN RELATION TO FARM YARD MANURE AND NITROGEN LEVELS
Vajinder Pal Kalra and P. K. Sharma
Department of Agronomy
Punjab Agricultural University,
Ludhiana-141 004 (Punjab), India
*(e-mail : kalravajinder41@gmail.com
(Received : 20 February 2015; Accepted : 12 June 2015)
SUMMARY
A field experiment was conducted at the Research Farm of the Department of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during the summer season of 2011. The soil was loamy sand in texture, slightly alkaline in soil reaction (8.0), low in organic carbon (0.33%) and available N (130 kg/ha), high in available P (28.5 kg/ha) and medium in available K (240 kg/ha). The experiment comprising 12 treatment combinations viz., three main plots (farm yard manure at 0, 12.5 and 25 t/ha) and four nitrogen levels in sub-plots (0, 40, 80 and 120 kg/ha) was laid out in split plot design with four replications. Quality components such as moisture content, crude protein, IVDMD and ash content were improved by application of farm yard manure 25 t/ha over 12.5 t/ha untreated and control. Interaction effects were also recorded at harvest stage of fodder crop in quality parameters such as moisture content, crude protein and IVDMD. Application of chemical fertilizers also improved the different quality parameters with increasing level of nitrogen up to the highest level (N120).
Key words:Maize fodder, nitrogen, farm yard manure, green fodder, dry matter, quality