Optimum sowing date, seed rate and age of cutting of some rainy season sown forage crops for hay production in the Gezira

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Research Paper 01/03/2017
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Optimum sowing date, seed rate and age of cutting of some rainy season sown forage crops for hay production in the Gezira

Sara A. Babiker, Mohammed A. M. Khair, Shadia A. Salih
Int. J. Agron. Agri. Res.10( 3), 48-54, March 2017.
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Abstract

The study involved four separate experiments viz, two for each of clitoria and phillipesara in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and two for each of Abu Sabeen and lubia in 2005, 2006 and 2008 at Gezira Research Station Farm (GRSF) of the Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC), Wad Medani, Sudan. The experimental design for each crop was a split-split plot design where sowing date was allotted for the main plot, seed rate for the sub plot and cutting age for the sub-sub-plot with four replications. At harvest, the parameters measured were plant count/m2, plant height (cm), leaf/stem ratio, fresh and dry forage yield (t/ha). The results revealed that, the forage yield of clitoria was not affected by the seed rates. In contrast, phillipesara, Abu Sabeen and lubia showed very limited inter-seasonal responses to the change in the seed rate. Delaying harvesting from 45 days after sowing (DAS) to 75, resulted in a significant increase in the forage yields for the four crops. While the forage yield of phillipesara was not affected by sowing date, that of clitoria was higher when August 30 sown and those of lubia and Abu Sabeen were higher when August 15 sown.

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