Current Advances in Agricultural Sciences(An International Journal)

A field experiment was conducted during rabi 2009 and kharif 2010 to evaluate green fodder productivity in different cropping system at farmers’ fields in Ferozepur, Faridkot, Patiala and Sangrur districts of Punjab. Three fodder cropping systems, viz. maize (Zea mays L.)-berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum L.)-pearlmillet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. emend. Stuntz], maize-berseem-maize+cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] and sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]+clusterbean [Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub]-oat (Avena sativa L.)-cowpea were evaluated at the farmers’ fields. The highest total green and dry fodder yields (162.5 t ha⁻¹and 29.3 t ha⁻¹) were obtained in maize-berseempearlmillet fodder cropping system which were significantly higher than sorghum+clusterbean-oat-cowpea cropping system. The maize-berseem-maize+cowpea cropping system was statistically at par with maize-berseem-pearlmillet and sorghum+clusterbean-oat-cowpea cropping system in respect of green and dry fodder yields, respectively. Berseem equivalent green fodder yield was the highest (161.7 t ha⁻¹) in maize-berseem-maize+cowpea and it was significantly higher than maize-berseem-pearlmillet but was statistically at par with sorghum+clusterbean-oat-cowpea cropping system. Pearlmillet (45.2 t ha⁻¹) in summer, sorghum+clusterbean (56.5 t ha⁻¹) in kharif and berseem in rabi season gave the highest green fodder yield. The sorghum+clusterbean-oats-cowpea cropping system gave 16.5 and 5.1% higher net returns as compared to maize-berseem-pearlmillet and maize-berseem-maize+cowpea cropping systems, respectively.