Productivity of Palisade Grass as Influenced by Cutting Intensity, Plant Spacing and Nutrient Management Sharu S. R.1,*, Rani T. Sajitha1,**, Lakshmi S.1,*** 1Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala *email: sharusv@gmail.com
** sajitharani2003@yahoo.com
*** slakshmi090@gmail.com
Online published on 2 January, 2017. Abstract Among the fodder grasses, Brachiaria is the most important genus for pastures in the tropics. Brachiaria brizantha, commonly known as palisade grass produces anexcellent multipurpose and productive pasture that can withstand high stocking rates withgood persistence under continuous or rotational grazing. The present investigation was conducted to standardise the cutting intensity, nutrient requirement and plant spacing of palisade grass. The experiment comprised of three factors (cutting pattern, nutrient level and plant spacing). The cutting intensity of 10 cm from the ground level produced highest green fodder yield of 114.97 t ha−1. The highest dose of nutrient (300: 75: 75 kg N, P2O5 and K2O t ha−1) showed maximum herbage yieldof 123.12 t ha−1. Among thedifferent spacing, the highest yield (118.82 t ha−1) was recorded for narrow spacing (60 cm x 30 cm). Top Keywords Brachiaria brizantha, plant spacing, nutrient level, cutting intensity, fodder yield. Top |