Indian Journal of Animal Nutrition

A field experiment was conducted to ascertain the effect of organic and inorganic nutrient sources on yield and quality of fodder cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] during kharif, 2017 at Research Farm of Agronomy Section, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with twelve nutrient combinations and replicated thrice. Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium was applied in the form of urea, SSP and MOP, respectively and four different biofertilizers were used viz. rhizobium, phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB), potassium solubilizing bacteria (KSB) and zinc solubilizing bacteria (ZnSB). Application of RDF (N, P, K) along with biofertilizers (Rhizobium, Phosphorus Solubilizer Bacteria, Potassium Solubilizer Bacteria and Zinc Solubilizer Bacteria) Treatment [T₆] gave significantly (P<0.05) higher green fodder yield (334.5 q ha⁻¹), Dry matter content (17.80%) and dry matter yield (59.5 q ha⁻¹). Application of 2/3^rd RDF along with biofertilizers (Rhizobium, PSB, KSB and ZnSB), [T₇] significantly (P=0.05) enhanced the quality parameters of fodder cowpea like crude protein (18.30%), ether extract (3.48%) and total ash content (8.82%) while insoluble crude protein (NDICP and ADICP), organic matter and fiber fractions (NDF, ADF, ADL) were significantly (P<0.05) lowered. However, lignin content was comparable among the treatments. Therefore, it is concluded that reduction of one third RDF along with additional biofertilizers gave more improved quality fodder than rest of the treatments.