Abstract
Tillage practices and intercropping plays an imperative role in the final production and quality of forages. Therefore, field
studies were performed to compare forage quantity and quality of cereals and sesbania grown alone and in combination with
different row ratios under different tillage practices during 2013 and 2014. The experiment consisted of tillage practices; i. e.,
minimum tillage (MT), and deep tillage (DT) and variable row ratios, i.e., sole sorghum, sole millet, sole sesbania, sorghum +
sesbania (1:1), sorghum + sesbania (1:2), sorghum + sesbania (2:1), millet + sesbania (1:1), millet + sesbania (1:2), millet +
sesbania (2:1). The experiment was performed in RCBD with a split plot arrangement having three replications. The results
indicated that forage yield was significantly affected by tillage practices; however, forage quality remained non-significant.
The deep tillage produced maximum fresh forage yield (FFY) and dry matter yield (DMY) compared to MT. Cereals-sesbania
row intercropping significantly affected fodder yield and quality. The maximum fresh forage and dry matter yields were
observed in cereals alone and the lowest was recorded in millet + sesbania (1:2) ratios. Growing of cereals + sesbania at
different row ratios improved forage quality (ash % and crude protein %); however, an increase in rows of sesbania in the
mixture decreased the crude fiber contents. In conclusion, growing sesbania alone or in row intercropping with cereals has the
potential to improve the forage as compared to cereals grown alone.
Keywords: Cereals, sesbania, tillage practices, row ratios, forage quality
Muhammad Shahid Ibni Zamir, Muhammad Kamran Khan, Muhammad Umer Chattha, Muhammad Umair Hassan. (2022) Effect of tillage practices and intercropping ratios on quantity and quality of cereals-sesbania forage, Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Volume 59, Issue 3.
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