Phosphorus and Potassium Application Improves Fodder Yield and Quality of Sorghum in Aridisol under Diverse Climatic Conditions

Atique-ur-Rehman, Rafi Qamar, Muhammad Mohsin Altaf, Mona S. Alwahibi, Rashid Al-Yahyai and Mubshar Hussain
Additional contact information
Atique-ur-Rehman: Department of Agronomy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan
Rafi Qamar: Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Muhammad Mohsin Altaf: College of Ecology and Environment, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Mona S. Alwahibi: Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Rashid Al-Yahyai: Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 123, Oman
Mubshar Hussain: Department of Agronomy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Fodder yield and quality must be improved for sustainable livestock production. A lack of or low application of phosphorus (P) and potassium (P) are among the leading constraints of lower fodder yield and quality of sorghum [most cultivated fodder crop during kharif season (crop cultivation in summer and harvesting during winter] in Aridisol of Pakistan. Therefore, this two-year field study evaluated the role of different P and K levels on fodder yield and quality of sorghum cultivar ‘ Ijar-2002 ’ planted in Multan and Okara districts, Punjab, Pakistan. Seven P-K (kg ha −1 ) levels, i.e., T 1 (40–0), T 2 (80–0), T 3 (0–40), T 4 (0–60), T 5 (40–40), T 6 (80–40), T 7 (60–80) and an untreated T 0 (control) were included in the study. Results indicated that individual effects of years, locations and P-K levels had a significant effect on fodder yield and quality. All treatments received an equal amount of nitrogen (i.e., 120 kg ha −1 ). Application of P-K in Aridisols at both locations significantly improved fodder yield, dry matter yield, and ether contents during both years. The T 6 (80–40 kg ha −1 ) significantly improved yield and quality traits of sorghum fodder except for crude fiber (CF) and acid and neutral detergent fiber (ADF and NDF) at both locations during both years of study. Moreover, fodder harvested from Multan observed significantly higher CF, ADF, NDF, cellulose and hemicellulose contents than Okara. However, sorghum grown in Okara harvested more fodder yield due to more plant height and ether contents. In conclusion, planting sorghum in Aridisols, fertilized with 80–40 kg ha −1 P-K seemed a viable option to harvest more fodder yield of better quality.

Keywords: sorghum; locations; P-K levels; fodder quality; yield traits; tropical conditions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/5/593/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/5/593/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:12:y:2022:i:5:p:593-:d:800705

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().