Dairy Farm Guide - Best dairy farming information from trusted resource!
Maize is an important kharif fodder crop which gives very palatable, highly succulent and nutritionally rich fodder. It is free from antimetabolies. It is a most favourable crop for silage making. Maize grain is also an important feed component of dairy cattle and poultry feed.
Soil requirement: Maize requires very fertile, well drained loamy soils having pH range of 5.5 to 8.0. The crop grows best on alluvial or red soils but can also by grown on well drained black soils. It does not thrive well on heavy soils, saline and alkali soils.
Varieties: African Tall, J 1006 and Vijay are suitable varieties for fodder Production.
Method and time of sowing and seed rate: After preparing a fine seed bed the crop must be sown in lines (20-30 cm apart) by using seed drill or maize planter or by kera on para method. Sowing time varies from place to place. Seed rate of 25-30 kg per acre and 20 kg per acre is recommended for crops grown for fodder and grain purposes, respectively. When sown mixed with cowpea use 12kg seed of cowpea and 20kg of maize per acre
Weed control: Weed very effectively may be controlled by spraying 200g atrazine (Atrataf 50 WP) dissolved in 200 litre water per acre within two days of sowing or upto 2-3 leaf stage of weeds.
Manure and Fertilizer requirement: Maize responds well to the application farm yard manure and compost. Apply 10 ton farm yard manure or compost per acre one fortnight before sowing . In addition to it aply 25 kg urea at sowing time and 25 kg urea 25-30 days after sowing. In the absence of farm yard manure application it reuires 110 kg urea per acre. In addition to this in two split doses. Half of the urea should be applied at the time of sowing and remaining half 25-30 days after sowing.
Crop mixture: Maize may be sown along with cowpea, velvet bean or rice bean to improve overall nutritive value of the fodder. In summer season maize can be sown mixed with bajra or jowar as these are drought and heat tolerant.
Harvesting stage: It is harvested 60-70 days after sowing depending upon the varieties. For fodder purpose, maize may be harvested from silking to soft milk stage but for silage it is harvested at milk stage.
Yields:- Maize yields around 160-200 quintals of green fodder per acre during rainy season and 100-120 quintals of fodder per acre during summer season.
