AGR 301 :: Lecture 17 :: FORAGE CROPS, FORAGE GRASSES AND LEGUMES - IMPORTANCE, SOIL AND CLIMATIC REQUIREMENT, AGRONOMIC PRACTICES, TIME OF HARVEST, BIOMASS PRODUCTION AND NUTRIENT CONTENT
Importance of forages
- Agriculture is the art and science of crop & animal production
- Crop production is also to animal production
- Animal production in turn for crop production
- Animal population need to be re-oriented
- Unproductive to be given away
- We have approximately
- 20% of world’s cattle
- 50% of buffaloes
- More than 120 million goats and
- 60 million sheep (Deb Roy, 1993)
- Natural gracing is limited
- Crop wastes are recycled & but limited
- Hence
- Exclusive cultivation and agronomic managements like
- Control of bushes and weeds
- Pasture establishment
- Introduction of legumes/grasses
- Fertilizer application
- Cutting and grazing management are need of the hour
Forage grasses
Guinea Grass – Panicum maximum
- Season & varieties
- Throughout year – CO 1
- Field preparation
- Well drained soil with ridges & furrows, not at heavy clay
- FYM 25t
- Seed rate
- 2.5 kg /ha, Slips - 66,000 nos.
- Spacing
- 50 x 30 cm
- Fertilizer
- 50-50-40 NPK
- 25 kg N at every cut
- Harvest
- First cut at 75 DAS or 45 DAP, then at 45days
- Green fodder 175 t from 8 cuts
- May be intercropped with Hedge Lucerne for nutritious fodder
Blou Buffel Grass / Anjan grass - Cenchrus glaucus
- Season & varieties
- NE Monsoon – CO 1 (Neela Kolukkattai)
- Field preparation
- Well drained soil high ca content with ridges & furrows
- FYM 25 t
- Seed rate
- 6-8 kg /ha
- Spacing
- 50 x 30 cm, sow at shallow depth, break seed dormancy
- Fertilizer
- 25-40-20 NPK
- 25 kg N at every cut
- Harvest
- First cut at 75 DAS, then 4-6 cuts depending upon growth
- Green fodder 40 t from 4 cuts
Bajra Napier Hybrid
- Season & varieties
BN 2, NB 21, CO 1, CO 2
- Field preparation
- Well drained soil with ridges & furrows – not at heavy clay
- FYM 25t
- Seed rate
- 40,000 slips
- Spacing
- 50 x 50 cm
- Fertilizer
- 50-50-40 NPK
- 100 N kg after each cut
- Harvest
- Cut at 75-80 DAP subsequent at 45 days interval
- Green fodder 250 - 400 t
Deenanath Grass - Pennisetum pedicillatum
- Season & varieties
- Throughout the year – CO 1
- Field preparation
- Well drained soil with ridges & furrows
- Heavy clay or water logging not suitable
- FYM - 25t
- Seed rate
- 2.5 kg
- Spacing
- 30cm solid row
- Fertilizer
- 40-60-40 NPK
- 20 N kg on 30th DAS
- Harvest
- 55-60 DAS
- Green fodder 40 - 45 t also as rainfed 20-25 t
Para grass / Water grass / Buffalo grass - Brachiaria mutica
- Season & varieties
- Thru’ year
- Field preparation
- All type of soils more suited to moist and waterlogged soils
- FYM 25t
- Seed rate
- 40,000 slips
- Spacing
- 50 x 50 cm
- Fertilizer
- 20-40-0 NPK
- 20 N kg after each cut
- Harvest
- Cut at 60-90 DAP subsequent at 30-45 days interval
- Green fodder 200 - 240 t
Other grasses
- Marvel grass
- Dicanthium annulatum
- Rhodes Grass
- Chloris gayana
- Elephant grass / Napier grass
- Pennisetum purpureum
- Johnson grass
- Sorghum helepense
- Sudan grass
- Sorghum sudanense
Forage legumes
Lucerne - Medicago sativa
- Season & varieties
- Thru’ year , CO 1
- Not suitable for very hot and cold climate
- Field preparation
- Apply 12.5 t FYM
- Beds & channels 10- 20 m
- Seed rate
- 20 kg /ha of cuscuta free seeds
- Spacing
- 25cm with solid row
- Fertilizer
- 25-120-40 NPK
- Harvest
- First cut at 75-80 DAS, subsequent cut at 25-30 days
- Green fodder
- 70-80 t in 10 cuttings
Hedge Lucerne – Desmanthus virgatus (Velimasal)
- Season & varieties
- Thru’ year , Velimasal
- Field preparation
- Apply 12.5 t FYM
- Ridges & Furrows
- Seed rate
- 20 kg /ha
- Spacing
- 50cm with solid row
- Fertilizer
- 10-60-30 NPK - to be applied below the seed rows
- Harvest
- First cut at 90 DAS at 50cm ht , subsequent cut at 45 days
- Green fodder
- 125 t
Hedge Lucerne +Grasses
- Grasses suitable are Guinea and BN Hybrids
- Ratio - 3:1
- First cut at 50 DAS and further at 45 d
- Cutting height of velimasal is 50cm
- Additional fodder yield of 100-125t
- Nutritious proportion
Stylo – Stylosanthes scabra (Muyal masal)
- Season & varieties
- Jun, July to Sep, Oct, S. hamata annual & S. scabra perennial
- Field preparation
- Apply 12.5 t FYM
- Beds & channels
- Seed rate
- 6 kg /ha
- Spacing
- 30 x 15cm
- Fertilizer
- 20-60-15 NPK - to be applied below the seed rows
- Harvest
- First cut at 75 DAS at flowering, subsequent cuts
- Green fodder
- First year low subsequent years 30 t/annum
Fodder Cowpea
- Season & varieties
- June, July – CO 5
- Field preparation
- Apply 12.5 t FYM
- Beds & channels
- Seed rate
- 40 kg /ha
- Spacing
- 30 x 10 cm
- Fertilizer
- 25-40-20 NPK - to be applied below the seed rows
- Harvest
- 50-55 days aftersowing(50% flowering)
- Green fodder
- 18-20 t/ha
- As soon flowering starts
Sirrato - Macroptilium atropurpureum
- Drought tolerant pasture
- Compatibility with cereals & grass
- Native of C & S America
- Deep rooted perennial
- Trailing, hairy stems
- Can tolerate grazing pressure
- Can tolerate shade
- Wide range of soils
Multiple choice questions
- Napier grass is native of ___________
a. Abyssinia b. Asia c. Tropical Africa - Crop comes up well under water undulated condition & with sewage water
a. Para grass b. Guinea grass c. BN grass - Dominant grass species found in India, called as Anjan grass in India __________
a. Guinea grass b. Stylosanthes c. Cenchrus - The planting of a hectare would need about ________r ooted sets of BN Hybrid
a. 23000 b. 43000 c. 33000 - Queen of forage crops is ________
a. Lucerne b. BN grass c. Guinea grass
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