Growth, yield and quality of teosinte (Euchleana maxicana L.) fodder as influenced by nitrogen and phosphorus application

Abstract

Nitrogen and phosphorus are the most critical determinants of fodder yield and quality. Here, we chose Teosinte fodder (Euchleana maxicana L.) as a test crop for evaluating the effects of supplied nutrients. Farmers applied injudiciously nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P₂O₅) doses to fodder crops; hence, it is essential to find out the optimum doses of N and P₂O₅ for yield and quality enhancement under irrigated condition in karnal. In this experiment, it was needed to investigate the effect of different levels of N (0, 40, 80, 120, 160 kg/ha) and P₂O₅ (0, 30, 60 kg/ha) combinations on the growth attributes and quality of fodder crops. Among the nutrient levels, 160 kg N and 60 kg P₂O₅ combination maximize yield attributing characters and also improve the quality parameters viz. crude protein, ash, ether extract, nitrogen free extract, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and hemicellulose. Therefore, it is concluded that present study demonstrates that optimum levels both N and P₂O₅ application significantly increased growth attributing characters, yield as well as enhanced the quality traits of the fodder crops.

Keywords:

• growth
• nitrogen levels
• phosphorus levels
• quality
• Teosinte fodder
• yield

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the Director, ICAR – National Dairy Research Institute for his keen interest and all supports and encouragement for completion of this project on Teosinte fodder to popularize among dairy farmers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.