Nitrogen-driven improvement of biomass yield and forage quality in sustainable year-round fodder systems

A consistent supply of nutritious fodder is vital for sustaining livestock productivity and reducing dependence on external feed resources. To bridge the fodder deficit, year-round sustainable fodder production systems with efficient nitrogen management are essential for enhancing biomass yield and forage quality. To address this need, the field experiment was conducted during the rabi (October-February), summer (March-May) and kharif (June-October) season of 2023-24 and 2024-25 at the ZARS, V. C. Farm, Mandya, Karnataka. The primary objective of this research was to identify the most productive cereal-legume cropping system with optimizing nitrogen levels, that enhances quantity and quality of biomass production while reducing the gap between the supply and demand of quality fodder throughout the year. Among cropping systems evaluated, Fodder Oats + Cowpea (3:1) - Fodder Sorghum + Cowpea (3:1) - Fodder Maize + Cowpea (3:1) recorded significantly higher green forage yield (977 q ha-1 year-1), dry matter yield (204 q ha-1 year-1), crude protein yield (28.23 q ha-1 year-1), total carbohydrate yield (150.6 q ha-1 year-1), land equivalent ratio (1.34) and economic profitability (B:C ratio 2.81). Likewise, application of 125 % Recommended Dose of Nitrogen (RDN) significantly increased green forage yield (998 q ha-1 year-1), dry matter yield (214 q ha-1 year-1), crude protein content (14.13 %) and profitability (B:C ratio 2.86). Hence, adopting a diverse fodder cropping system integrated with intercrop cowpea in cereal fodder crops and applying 125 % RDN ensures sustainable year-round fodder production with enhanced yield, nutritive quality and profitability, offering viable strategy for livestock-intensive farming.