TY  - BOOK
AU  - Shahina, N N
AU  - Asha K Raj (Guide)
TI  - On-farm evaluation of selected cereal fodders in prominent land use systems of Kerala 
U1  - 634.9 
PY  - 2021///
CY  - Vellanikkara 
PB  - Department of Silviculture and Agroforestry, College of Forestry
KW  - Silviculture and Agroforestry
KW  - Cereal fodders
N1  - M Sc
N2  - The field study entitled “On-farm evaluation of selected cereal fodders in 
prominent land use systems of Kerala” was carried out as two separate experiments 
in homegarden and coconut garden with livestock component in Madakkathara 
panchayath, Thrissur, Kerala during 2020-21. The study aimed to evaluate the 
forage yield and nutritive value of three cereal fodders viz., maize, sorghum, and 
bajra in major land use systems of Kerala viz., homegarden, coconut garden, and 
under open conditions with full sunlight. The study also assessed the relative 
performance of cereal fodders with hybrid napier, the popular fodder grass in 
Kerala. In each system, the treatments were laid out in Randomized Block Design 
replicated three times. The crops were cultivated during two different seasons viz., 
rabi and summer.
In homegarden trial, all the crops established well in homegarden and 
contiguous open areas. In general, the growth parameters of crops were better in the 
open field. Among crops, maize showed better growth followed by hybrid napier, 
bajra, and sorghum. In open field, maize recorded significantly higher cumulative 
green fodder yield (93.27 Mg ha-1
in rabi and 93.32 Mg ha-1
in summer) followed by 
hybrid napier (70.42 Mg ha-1
in rabi and 79.20 Mg ha-1
in summer), while in 
homegarden, the yield of maize (57.16 Mg ha-1
and 73.50 Mg ha-1
) and hybrid napier 
(60.42 Mg ha-1
in rabi and 73.51 Mg ha-1 in summer) was on par. The productivity 
of sorghum and bajra was poor in both land use systems. The shade tolerance of 
fodder grasses in homegarden is in the order; hybrid napier>maize >bajra 
>sorghum. Dry fodder yields also followed a similar trend. The fodder production 
was generally higher during the summer season than in rabi. The per day 
productivity was higher for bajra and maize in both land use systems. The PAR 
availability in homegarden as compared to open conditions during rabi and summer 
season was 31.72 and 49.18 percent respectively.
Considering the quality aspects of fodder, the crude protein content was 
higher and crude fibre content was lower in homegarden than in open field, whereas 
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the dry matter and ash content showed the reverse trend. In homegarden and open 
field, maize had more crude protein content followed by hybrid napier, bajra, and 
sorghum during both seasons. The order of CF content in homegarden was in the 
order; maize<bajra <sorghum <hybrid napier. Maize also had more ash content 
compared to other fodders. Fodder grasses in homegarden had higher N content 
than open cultivated grasses. Insignificant variations existed in P and K content in 
fodder grasses in both land management systems. In the present study, fodder maize 
recorded the highest B: C ratio in homegarden as well as in open contiguous areas.
In coconut garden trial, fodder crops showed growth and yield reduction 
underneath coconut as compared to open field. The maximum green fodder yield in 
coconut garden was obtained in maize (71.60 and 77.35 Mg ha-1
) followed by 
hybrid napier (56.45 and 67.80 Mg ha-1
) during both seasons. The order of shade 
tolerance of fodder grasses was in the order: hybrid napier> maize > bajra > 
sorghum. The dry fodder yields also followed a similar trend. Per day productivity 
of fodder grasses was noticed more in open contiguous areas as compared to 
coconut garden. The maximum per day productivity was obtained by bajra and 
maize in both land management systems. The mean daily PAR transmittance in 
coconut garden during the rabi and summer season was 55.74 and 56.83 percent 
respectively.
In the second experiment also, the crude protein content was higher and 
crude fibre content lower in coconut garden, whereas the dry matter and ash content 
observed more in open fields. In coconut garden, maize had more crude protein 
content followed by hybrid napier and the crude fibre content was minimum in 
maize. The ash content was also maximum in maize. The grasses in the coconut 
garden showed more N content and were recorded highest in maize. The P and K 
content recorded higher values in open conditions than in coconut garden. The P 
concentration was maximum in hybrid napier, while K content was highest in 
fodder bajra. In both systems, maize recorded the highest B: C ratio followed by 
hybrid napier.
xviii
Thus, the study indicates that cereal fodder, maize can be successfully and 
cost effectively cultivated in partially shaded tree-based systems like homegardens 
and coconut gardens with minimal yield loss. In comparison, yield reduction was 
higher under homegarden with low PAR transmission (41 percent) than that of 
coconut garden with higher light availability (56 percent). The study also indicated 
that maize outperformed hybrid napier both quantitatively and qualitatively under 
coconut garden with more availability of light, whereas it showed a comparable 
response in homegarden with intense shade indicating higher shade tolerance of 
hybrid napier. Bajra showed moderate performance under shady situations whereas 
sorghum yielded very poor results
ER  -