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Zn and Fe bio-fortification and its effect on fodder maize and sorghum for sustainable livestock production in Himalayan foothills of India
Author
Pal, MS
Publisher
XII International Rangeland Congress
Publication Year
2025
Body

A field experiment was conducted at G B Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, India) in kharif (crop-growing season from June to October) 2019 and 2020 to study the effect of Zn and Fe biofortification on fodder quality of maize and sorghum in Himalayan foothills of India. The experimental site was clay loam with organic matter 0.74% and available N, P and K was 280.2, 25.2, 215 kg ha-1, respectively. The initial soil Fe and Zn content was 3.582 and 0.461 ppm, respectively. The growth, yield, quality and economics of fodder crops differed significantly with higher plant height, number of plants m-1 row length, flowering, fodder yield, crude protein yield and economics in sorghum. Fodder sorghum produced 27.2, 18.8 and 82.5% higher green fodder yield, dry fodder yield and net return, respectively, than maize. The green and dry fodder yields, crude protein yield and economics were significantly higher at Zn10bFe10bZn1fFe1f, while Zn and Fe content s in soil and plants were significantly greater at Zn20bFe20bZn1fFe1f. Therefore, it may be concluded that both maize and sorghum, preferably sorghum, could be biofortified with application of 10 kg ZnS0 4 ha-1+10 kg FeS0 4 ha-1 (basal)+1% ZnS0 4+1% FeS0 4 (foliar 45 DAS) for higher biofortified fodder yield and net profit for sustainable livestock production in Himalayan foothills of India and these results may be replicated in similar ecologies.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Additional Information
This paper is part of the larger XII International Rangelands Congress Proceedings. Page Numbers: 1835-1840. Theme: Theme 6 / Poster presentations – Theme 6
ISSN
978-0-646-72121-7
Conference Name
International Rangeland Congress
Collection
International Rangelands Congress
Keywords
Bio-fortification
crude protein
Fe
Leaf:Stem ratio
Zn