Response of phosphatic fertilization on cowpea cultivars for fodder production under vertisol conditons of c.g. Plains

Anjum Ahmad and Dr. G.S. Tomar

Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, I.G.K.V., Raipur (C.G.) India

ABSTRACT

A Field experiment was conducted at the instructional farm of IGKV Raipur during kharif season of 2008 to study the effect of phosphorus levels (40, 60, 80 kg P₂O₅ha¹) on the fodder and seed yields of cowpea varieties (UPC-9202, UPC-4200, UPC-626, UPC-628, UPC-629 and Bundel lobia-1) was studied variety UPC-626 recorded 306.66 q/ha higher yields of green fodder, 42.66 q/ha dry fodder yields. The green fodder, dry matter yield attributes increased with increase in phosphorus levels upto 80 kg/ha.

INTRODUCTION:

The crop and livestock enterprises in India constitute two functional components of mixed farming in determining the agricultural economy, balancing the environment and sustaining livelihood. The lack of sufficient quantity of green fodder throughout the year seems to be a major constraint in the growth of animal husbandry in India. This situation can be improved, if animals are fed with balance and adequate quantity and quality of feed and fodder. The productivity of animals in the state (C.G.) quite low in comparison to other states of the country because of green and dry fodder decreasing year after year, so need to boost the production through Cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) crop. It provides highly nutritious, protein rich and quality fodder to meet the requirement of dairy cattle and other livestock. Thus adoption of holistic approach by integration of dual-purpose efficient cowpea varieties with appropriate production technologies offers a sustainable and livelihood option for improving the socio-economic conditions of poor Indian marginal and small farmers through good quality of grain and green fodder production by phosphorus application.

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

A field study was conducted at the Instructional farm of IGKV, Raipur during kharif season of 2008 to assess the production potential of different varieties of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) under varying levels of phosphorus. An experiment was laid down using factorial randomized design involving 18 treatments as six varieties of cowpea (viz. UPC-9202, UPC-4200, UPC-626, UPC-628, UPC-629 and Bundel lobia-1and three levels of phosphorus (viz. 40, 60 and 80 kg P₂O₅ ha^-1). Each treatment was replicated thrice resulting into a 54 plots. The fodder cutting and harvesting was done in the last week of September and October 2008 respectively.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION:

Green fodder yield (q ha^-1)

Significantly highest green fodder yield of 306.66 q ha^-1 was obtained from UPC-626. The Bundel Lobia-1 had much lower production (213.11 q ha^-1) as compared to new varieties of forage cowpea. On an average 43.89 % higher yield of green fodder was recorded with UPC-626 over the check (Bundel Lobia-1). Though, the green forage yield of UPC-4200 and UPC-628 remained on par with each other but both of these varieties produced significantly higher tonnage of green fodder compared with varieties other than UPC-626. An application of phosphorus increased the green forage yield with each increase in the levels of phosphorus.

The highest green forage yield (288.39 q ha-1) was noted when cowpea was fertilized with 80 kg P₂O₅ ha^-1. These results are in confirmation with the findings of Gurmani et al (2006) and Swaroop (2006).

An increase of 17.28 % was found with the 80 kg P₂O₅ ha^-1 over 40 kg P₂O₅ ha^-1. The interaction effect of varieties and levels of phosphorus on the green forage yield of cowpea was found to be significant. Increase in the levels of phosphorus increased the green forage production in all the varieties of cowpea. At the same or different levels of phosphorus, cv. UPC-626 recorded significantly higher green forage as compared to other varieties. Application of phosphorus at 80 kg P₂O₅ ha^-1 resulted maximum forage yield from UPC-626 compared with rest of the varieties. Bundel Lobia-1 was proved to be lower yielder as compared to other varieties in all the levels of phosphorus application. Bhilare and Patil (2002), however, observed that the interaction effects due to cultivars and P levels were non-significant but cowpea cv. UPC-951 with the application of 60 kg P₂O₅ ha^-1 showed the highest forage and dry matter yield.

Dry fodder yield (q ha^-1)

In cowpea, significant differences existed among the different varieties for their dry fodder yield, maximum (42.66 q ha^-1) was registered in UPC-626, while minimum (23.89 q ha^-1) in Bundel lobia-1 as compared to other varieties. The magnitude of increase in dry fodder yield differed greatly with different varieties. An increase of 78.56 % higher dry fodder yield was recorded with UPC-626 over the check (Bundel Lobia-1). This might be due to the better performance of UPC-626 with respect to growth attributes and green fodder yield. Similar results have been reported by Rajshree and Pillai (2001).

Application of phosphorus from 40 to 80 kg P₂O₅ ha^-1 increased the dry matter yield of cowpea. The combined effect of varieties and levels of phosphorus was found to be significant with respect to dry matter production of cowpea. At the same or different levels of phosphorus cv. UPC-626 recorded the maximum dry matter yields (50 q ha^-1) which was significantly higher over other treatment combinations. Variety Bundel Lobia-1 was proved to be lower yielder in all the levels of phosphorus as compared with other varieties.

Table .1: Green fodder yield (q ha^-1) of cowpea as influenced by variety and levels of phosphorus.

Variety	Levels of Phosphorus (kg ha^-1)
Variety	P₁(40)	P₂(60)	P₃(80)	Mean
V₁ (UPC – 9202)	215.33	243.00	274.67	244.33
V₂ (UPC – 4200)	265.67	286.67	306.33	286.22
V₃ (UPC – 626)	288.00	310.00	322.00	306.66
V₄ (UPC – 628)	266.00	278.33	313.00	285.78
V₅ (UPC – 629)	243.33	257.33	280.00	260.22
V₆ (Bundel lobia-1)	197.00	208.00	234.33	213.11
Mean	245.88	263.88	288.39
	Variety	Phosphorus	Interaction
SEm +	1.700	1.202	2.944
CD (5%)	4.886	3.455	8.464

Table .2: Dry fodder yield (q ha^-1) of cowpea as influenced by variety and levels of phosphorus.

Variety	Levels of Phosphorus (kg ha^-1)
Variety	40	60	80	Mean
V₁ (UPC – 9202)	22.00	25.33	30.33	25.89
V₂ (UPC – 4200)	25.67	32.67	43.00	33.78
V₃ (UPC – 626)	35.00	43.00	50.00	42.66
V₄ (UPC – 628)	25.00	29.67	40.00	31.56
V₅ (UPC – 629)	25.33	27.33	36.33	29.66
V₆ (Bundel lobia-1)	20.00	24.67	27.00	23.89
Mean	27.57	34.67	43.81
	Variety	Phosphorus	Interaction
SEm +	0.790	0.558	1.367
CD (5%)	2.270	1.605	3.932