www.IndianJournals.com Members Copy, Not for Commercial Sale Downloaded From IP - 14.139.57.98 on dated 8-Apr-2015 57 Indian Journal of Animal Nutrition Indian J. Anim. Nutr. 2015. 32 (1): 57-62 Yield and Quality of Fodder Turnip as Affected by Nitrogen Application and Weed Management During Lean Period Govind Kumar * , Magan Singh, Rakesh Kumar, R.K. Yadav 1 , Chander Datt, K. Paul, P.G. Soni and A. Chauhan Forage Research and Management Centre, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal-132 001, Haryana, India ABSTRACT A field experiment was conducted at Forage Research and Management Centre, NDRI, Karnal during rabi season in 2013 to study the effect of nitrogen application and weed management on growth and yield of fodder turnip (Brassica compestris var. rapa) with four levels of nitrogen (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg N/ha) and four weed management practices (pendimethalin @ 1.0 kg a.i./ha, hand weeding, isoproturon @ 0.75 kg a.i./ha and weedy check) consisting of four replications in split plot design. Among N treatments of 150 kg application N/ha gave the highest growth, yield and quality. For weed management, application of pendimethalin @ 1.0 kg a.i. proved to be better in terms of growth and yield of turnip. Highest net return of ` 70,099 in 150 kg N/ha and ` 66,240 in pendimethalin application was observed with corresponding benefit: cost ratio of 1.77 and 1.79. Key words: Nitrogen, Pendimethalin, Isoproturon, Weeding, Turnip, Fodder yield INTRODUCTION India ranks first in terms of milk production with a record of 140 million MT, however, milk productivity is less as compared to developed countries mainly due to shortage of feeds and fodders. There is a big gap between the requirement and supply of green fodder during different months of the year. In north India, there is scarcity of fodder during November- December and May-June. Therefore, there is need to increase fodder production and ensure fodder availability during these lean periods. Since scope for area expansion under fodder crops is limited, the vertical enhancement is the solution to the problem of fodder shortage. Under such situation, adoption of improved package of practices (Kumar, 2012; 2013; 2014) intensive crop rotation, inclusion of short duration crops in existing rotations of grain, fodder and cash crops and better agronomic practices have great significance. Turnip (Brassica compestris var. rapa), a winter and short duration crop, fits well in intensive crop rotations. Fodder of turnip is rich in readily available carbohydrates and crude protein as well as it is highly palatable, succulent and easily digestible. The use of herbicides has great scope in fodder crops as they provide effective control of weeds and when applied at normal doses do not have any adverse effect on palatability of fodder and animal health. Nitrogen management is the most important factor for optimum growth and development of turnip affecting root dry matter (DM), root crude protein (CP), leaf DM yield and leaf CP of fodder turnip (Soheir et al., 2012). Root and leaf yields and yield components of forage turnip continually increase with increasing nitrogen doses up to 150 kg N/ha (Albayrak and Camas, 2006). Weeds also compete with crop plants for available nutrients, water and space and decreased both yield and quality of fodder turnip (Qasem and Hill, 1993). Therefore, present study was conducted to find out the effects of N application and weed management on growth, yield and quality of fodder turnip (Brassica compestris var. rapa) during winter season. MATERIALS AND METHODS A field experiment was conducted during rabi season in the year 2013 at Forage Research and Management Centre, NDRI, Karnal located at 29º45’ * Corresponding author: E-mail: kumargovind050@gmail.com; 1 ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal-132 001, Haryana, India Indian J. Anim. Nutr. 2015. 32 (1): 57-62