Evaluation of fodder production and nutritional composition of fresh and ensiled african tall maize (Zea mays L.) grown under various types and levels of fertilization

The experiment was conducted during October-December, 2020 at Forage Production Unit, College of Veterinary Science, Korutla, Jagityala, Telangana State, India to evaluate the yield of fodder under different manure or fertilizer applications and along with nutritional composition in fresh and ensiled form. African tall maize (ATM) was sown under four treatments and five replications in randomise block design (RBD) (T₁=control or no fertiliser application, T₂: Recommended dose of fertilisers application @ 120:60:40 NPK kg ha⁻¹, T₃: Farm Yard Manure (FYM) applied @ 10 t ha⁻¹ and T₄: Sheep manure applied @ 3 t ha⁻¹. The results showed a green fodder yield of 36.5 t ha⁻¹ in T₂ followed by T₃ (23.8 t ha⁻¹), T₄ (22.1 t ha⁻¹) and T₁ (20.3 t ha⁻¹) respectively. There was significant difference for plant height and number of leaves at harvest, green fodder yield and forage dry matter yield among the treatments. Maize as a forage should be cultivated with recommended fertilisers to gain the highest fresh forage yields and CP yields. There were no significant differences in Ether extract (EE), crude fibre (CF) and phosphorous content of fresh forage and silage while significant difference was seen in crude protein (CP), total ash (TA), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and calcium content. The nutrient composition of silage was higher than the values of fresh forage. The study showed that the nutrient composition of silage was preferable than the fresh fodder maize harvested at 85 DAS with recommended fertilizers.