Effect of Date of Sowing and Cutting Management on Seed Yield in Berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum L.)

Berseem is an important rabi fodder crop for dairy animals as it helps to maintain the availability of green fodder from month of October to April in addition to its easy digestibility and high nutrient content. The field was laid out in split plot design with fifteen treatments and three replications. Five dates of sowing i.e., D₁: 5 November, D₂: 15 November, D₃: 25 November, D₄: 5 December and D₅: 15 December comprised main plots, whereas sub plot treatment consisted of three last cutting dates C₁: 5 April, C₂: 15 April and C₃: 25 April. The later sown crop (15^th December) gave the highest seed yield (4.69 q/ha), which was statistically similar to 5^th December sowing (D₄). In case of last cutting date, treatment C_{1  recorded the highest seed yield of 5.08 q/ha which was followed by C2 (4.28 q/ha) and C3 (3.83q/ha).}