The increasing demand for livestock-derived products and the growing emphasis on sustainable agricultural production necessitate the development of efficient organic nutrient management strategies for fodder-based cropping systems.
A two-year field experiment was conducted at the ICAR–National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, located in the Trans-Gangetic Plains of India, to evaluate the integrated effects of farmyard manure (FYM), plant biostimulants (
Panchagavya
and seaweed extract), and bioinoculants on the growth, yield, chlorophyll content, and energy fractions of fodder maize (
Zea mays
L.) and berseem (
Trifolium alexandrinum
L.). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with six treatments and six replications.
Among the treatments, T
3
(PGPR + 75% recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) through FYM + three foliar sprays of
Panchagavya
) consistently produced the highest growth, fodder yield, chlorophyll concentration, and energy fractions in both crops during the two experimental years. In fodder maize, T
3
recorded the maximum green fodder yield (32.4–34.7 t ha
-
¹) and dry fodder yield (7.4–8.1 t ha
-
¹). Similarly, in berseem, T
3
produced the highest total green fodder yield (57.0–58.5 t ha
-
¹) and dry fodder yield (7.6–8.1 t ha
-
¹), over the absolute control. Total chlorophyll content reached 2.39–2.43 mg g
-
¹ in maize and 2.29–2.32 mg g
-
¹ in berseem under T
3
, accompanied by significant improvements in digestible energy, metabolizable energy, digestible feed energy, and net energy. The PGPR + 75% RDN through FYM + seaweed extract treatment (T
4
) also produced significant improvements over the absolute control and ranked among the best-performing treatments across most measured parameters, demonstrating the potential of seaweed extract as an effective biostimulant in integrated nutrient management.
Overall, the findings demonstrate that integrating PGPR with 75% RDN through FYM and
Panchagavya
was the most effective strategy for enhancing fodder productivity, nutritive quality, and energy value, while the PGPR + 75% RDN through FYM + seaweed extract treatment also provided substantial benefits and represents a promising alternative biostimulant-based approach for sustainable maize–berseem fodder production systems.
Vrushabh Vijay Fiskey, Kamsali Sukeswara Achari, Shreyas Bagrecha et al.· Frontiers in Agronomy· 0 citations
Background: Bioinoculants and biostimulants are gaining importance as sustainable approaches for improving fodder productivity and nutritive quality in forage crops. Their integration with organic nutrient sources may enhance nutrient availability, plant growth and forage quality. Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the effect of bioinoculants and biostimulants on fodder yield, proximate composition and fibre fractions of berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum L.). Methods: A field experiment was conducted during the rabi seasons of 2023-24 and 2024-25 at the Agronomy Research Farm of ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute in a randomized block design with six treatments and six replications. Result: Among the treatments, PGPR + 75% recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) through FYM + three foliar sprays of Panchagavya recorded the highest green fodder yields of 57.0 and 58.5 t ha-1 and dry fodder yields of 7.6 and 8.1 t ha-1 during 2023-24 and 2024-25, respectively, over the absolute control. The treatment also significantly improved dry matter, crude protein, ether extract and total ash contents while reducing acid detergent fibre, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent lignin contents. The findings indicated that integrated application of PGPR, FYM and Panchagavya is an effective and sustainable nutrient management strategy for improving fodder productivity and nutritive quality of berseem under organic production conditions.
Vrushabh Vijay Fiskey, D. Dadhich, T. Chandrakar et al.· Indian Journal of Animal Res...· 0 citations
Wheat productivity is constrained by declining soil fertility and low nutrient-use efficiency resulting from the continuous dependence on chemical fertilizers. Integrated Nutrient Management, through the judicious integration of organic, inorganic, and biological nutrient sources, offers a sustainable approach to enhance crop growth, yield, soil health, and long-term productivity; however, its effectiveness in combination with nano-fertilizers requires further evaluation. Therefore, a field experiment was planned during the Rabi season of 2024-25 and 2025-26, at the research farm of Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Mullana. The experiment was laid out in a two-factorial randomized block design with three replications. Factor A comprised two wheat varieties (WH 1270 and DBW 222), while Factor B consisted of eight nutrient management treatments involving RDF, vermicompost (2 t/ha), foliar nano urea (1250 mL/ha), foliar nano DAP (1250 mL/ha), and Azotobacter applied alone or in combination. The pooled data revealed that the variety DBW 222 showed significantly higher plant height (94.34 cm), number of tillers/meter row length (65.77), DMA/meter row length (224.82 g), LAI (5.56), spike length (9.84 cm), grains/spikes (48.31), effective tillers/m2 (300.80), test weight (40.27 g), grain yield (5042 kg/ha) and straw yield (6651 kg/ha) over variety WH 1270. Among various nutrient combinations, maximum plant height (104.65 cm), number of tillers/meter row length (70.51), DMA/meter row length (251.73 g), LAI (6.18), spike length (10.88 cm), grains/spikes (51.37), effective tillers/m2 (322.57), test weight (42.21 g), grain yield (5642 kg/ha) and straw yield (7439 kg/ha) was recorded with treatment T3 (100% RDF with vermicompost @ 2t/ha) which was found at par with T5 and T4. These treatments were found superior over T2, T6, T8 and T7. The least were found in T1
Sanjeev Kumar, I.S. Singh· Research on Crops· 0 citations