Ensuring year-round provision of green fodder for a single adult cattle unit poses a significant challenge, especially in regions with distinct seasons. However, with careful planning and the use of a variety of forage crops including legumes, grains and perennial grasses, it is possible to maintain a consistent supply of green fodder. Factors such as cattle type, weight, activity levels and the nutritional quality of the fodder all influence the amount of green fodder required by adult cattle. Adequate green fodder intake is crucial for meeting their nutritional needs and maintaining optimal health and productivity. This underscores the importance of exploring sustainable strategies for year-round green fodder provision highlighting the vital role of forage crop diversity in meeting the dietary needs of adult cattle. The research experiment took place at the Research Farm of the Division of Agronomy, SKUAST- Jammu spanning two consecutive years from 2020-2021 to 2021-2022. The experimental layout consisted of eight treatments arranged in three staggered configurations during both kharif and rabi seasons alongside perennial fodders planted along the borders. The design employed a randomized block design (RBD) and was replicated three times. Significantly higher system productivity was recorded with Multicut Bajra + Cowpea - Berseem + Oats with Root slips of Napier planted in July. Multicut Sorghum + Cowpea - Lucerne + Oat with stem cuttings of Setaria planted in January recorded maximum land requirement for 1 ACU and 10 ACU&rsquo;s whereas minimum land requirement for 1 ACU and 10 ACU&rsquo;s was observed in Multicut Bajra + Maize - Berseem + Barley with root slips of Napier planted in July.

Adult Cattle Unit based Fodder Model for Supplementing Round the Year Green Fodder in Irrigated Subtropics of Jammu and Kashmir: A Review

<div>Background: Livestock plays a significant role in Indian economy. Cattle population in India is higher (192.6 million), whereas the productivity is not. Quality fodder has to be supplied rather than costly concentrate feeds to reduce cost of production. Water being the important input of agriculture, its per capita availability (1829 m3) is reducing gradually. To improve the use efficiency drip irrigation is preferable rather than flood irrigation. Fertigation improves nutrient delivery and uptake in plants. Bajra Napier hybrid is a multicut perennial fodder grass grown in arid and semiarid region with high biomass yield. 
 
Methods: Experiment was conducted at college farm of Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai to study the growth and yield response of Bajra Napier under different irrigation regimes and fertigation levels. The treatments were laid out in split plot design, with three irrigation regimes in main plot and six fertigation treatments in sub plot.&nbsp; 
 
Result: The combination of 100% ETc with 100% RDF of NPK applied as water soluble fertilizer recorded higher morpho-physiological characters such as plant height, number of tillers and leaves per clump, leaf area index and green fodder yield, during the first two harvests. This might be due to more water availability at 100% ETc which lead to more water and nutrient uptake from the soil, In addition to that water soluble fertilizer at 100% RDF has more nutrient ratio and solubility. Positive correlation was observed between the growth parameters and green fodder yield, As the source and sink are the same in fodder crops.</div>

Adult Cattle Unit based Fodder Model for Supplementing Round the Year Green Fodder in Irrigated Subtropics of Jammu and Kashmir: A Review

Growth and Yield Response of Bajra Napier Hybrid under Different Irrigation Regimes with Fertigation Levels and Sources