Assessment of growth and productivity of fodder tree species with intercrops under agroforestry systems
Growth of fodder trees under agroforestry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21921/jas.v12i03.15253Keywords:
Fodder banks, Woody perennials, Mean annual increment, Pruning height and interval, Lops and tops, Cutting frequency, Total tree biomassAbstract
Fodder shrubs and trees (browse) play a significant role both in farming systems, where they are protected as fallow species, and in livestock production. A field experiment was conducted to assess the growth and productivity of fodder tree species with intercrops under agroforestry systems in Northern Transitional zone of Dharwad region of Karnataka in India during 2018-19 and 2019-20 in kharif and rabi seasons. The fodder plantation was established in 2014 with seven fodder tree species with a spacing of 5m × 3m Viz.,1.Calliandra calothyrsus, 2.Albizia lebbeck, 3.Leucaena leucocephala, 4.Sesbania grandiflora, 5.Gliricidia sepium, 6.Moringa olifera, 7.Bauhinia purpurea and 8. Sole Field Crops (soybean and safflower). The experiment was conducted with Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. Among seven fodder tree species evaluated under agroforestry systems, the highest MAI in volume of wood was reported in Moringa olifera (5.042 and 5.625 m3 ha-1) followed by Leucaena leucocephala (4.414 and 4.880 m3 ha-1). Gliricidia sepium produced the highest MAI in total tree biomass (4.18 and 4.90 t ha-1) followed by Moringa olifera (3.81 and 4.25 t ha-1) as compared to other fodder tree species studied. The pooled data of 2018 and 2019 reported maximum green fodder yield recorded in Calliandra calothyrsus (474.17, 586.07 and 429.46 kg ha-1) followed by Leucaena leucocephala (444.26, 555.33 and 388.73 kg ha-1) which varied significantly from other fodder tree species at all the stages of pruning intervals. Total fodder yield recorded for the year 2018 and 2019 showed significantly higher values of green fodder yield which were recorded in Calliandra calothyrsus (1462.89 and 1516.52 kg ha-1 respectively) followed by next best fodder tree Leucaena leucocephala (1365.88 and 1410.75 kg ha-1) for the year 2018 and 2019 respectively which varied significantly from other fodder tree species. The maximum per cent dry matter production recorded in T1 - Calliandra calothyrsus + FC (50.01, 51.05 and 52.03 %) followed by T3 - Leucaena leucocephala + FC (47.13, 48.20 and 49.24 %) at all the stages of pruning intervals. There was a gradual increase in dry matter from rainy to spring and winter seasons in all the fodder tree species examined. Green tree fodder yield was positively correlated with light interception (0.544) at 5 per cent significant level and negatively correlated with light transmission ratio (-0.383). Hence, these agroforestry systems have an additional role of improving socioeconomic status of farming community providing them additional income.
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