TILLAGE OPTIONS AND ITS EFFECT ON PRODUCTIVITY, PROFITABILITY AND QUALITY OF FORAGE UNDER FEED/ FOOD-FODDER BASED CROPPING SYSTEM IN MOLLISOLS
MAHENDRA SINGH PAL AND Y. P. JOSHI
Department of Agronomy,
College of Agriculture
G B Pant University of Agriculture & Technology,
Pantnagar-263145 (Uttarakhand)
(e-mail : drmspal1@gmail.com)
(Received : 4 January 2018; Accepted : 15 March 2018)
SUMMARY
Field experiment was conducted during 2009-10 and 2010-11 at Instructional Dairy Farm, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar to study the effect of tillage options on growth, forage yield and forage quality of berseem. The experimental site was silty loam in texture with 0.84% organic carbon and neutral in soil reaction (soil pH 7.1). The available N, P205 and K20 was 365, 36, 145 and kg/ha, respectively. The experiment consisted of 8 tillage options i.e. T1, Conventional tillage with 3 cultivation (one disc harrow+2 cultivator), T2, 2 Cultivation (1 disc harrow+1 cultivator), T3, 2 cultivation with Rotavator, T4, 1 cultivation with disc harrow, T5, 1 cultivation with Rotavator, T6, Broadcast seed before T3, T7, Broadcast Seed before T5, and T8, Zero tillage. The existing cropping system of the region i.e. ‘Sorghum-Wheat-Maize+Cowpea’ was grown with all recommended agrotechniques of all crops of the system. The conventional tillage gave highest green fodder yield equivalents, dry fodder yield, crude protein, net profit as well as B:C ratio followed by reduced tillage with broadcasting of seed before 2 cultivation with rotavator with respect of net profit and B:C ratio. Therefore conventional tillage or two pass of rotavator may be recommended for higher productivity, profitability and quality fodder production in Molliusols.
Key words: Crude protein, net return, productivity, profitability, tillage options