In addition to dry fodder, milch domesticated animals have to be fed green fodder as well because green fodder keeps the animals healthy. As a result, the milk-yielding capacity of animals increases. Moreover, animal husbandry farmers can cultivate certain fodder crops like berseem, Alfalfa, Guinea, Para grass and Napier grass to provide green fodder to the animals for a long time. All these fodder crops, with numerous health benefits, provide the farmer with green fodder for the animals throughout the year with less water.
List Of Top 5 Fodder Crops
This blog post will explain the top 5 fodder crops to grow for additional benefits in crop production. Also, we will describe the necessary farming conditions to cultivate these fodder crops.
1.Fodder Crops Farming Of Berseem Grass
Berseem grass is one of the popular green fodder crops for feeding animals. It is very nutritious and tasty, due to which it is grown by animal husbandry farmers as green fodder for animals. Moreover, berseem grass is a palatable and nutritious fodder for cattle. The digestibility in this is up to 75 per cent. The amount of fiber in its fodder is less, and the amount of protein is 20 to 21 percent. Berseem grass keeps the animals healthy and is beneficial in maintaining their health as well as milk production capacity.
Moreover, the berseem plant is similar to the fenugreek plant. The height of its plant is 2 to 2.5 feet, in which white and yellow flowers bloom. Berseem is also grown by most farmers for commercial purposes, and farmers prefer a Solis mini tractor because the Solis mini tractor price is reasonable. However, Berseem is sown in the second week of October. Therefore, Berseem is harvested every 40 days. As a result, Berseem yields 100 to 150 quintals in a year from about one-hectare fields.
2.Growing Napier Grass In Fodder Crops
Napier grass, which looks like sugarcane, is becoming popular among livestock farmers. These fodder crops are ready for harvesting in just 2 months after sowing. Moreover, plenty of protein and vitamins are found in its fodder. Furthermore, this grass is known as the best food for animals. Therefore, continuous feeding of Napier grass to milch animals increases the immunity of the animals, due to which they remain healthy and produce good milk.
Napier grass, also popular as elephant grass, is cultivated in February-March. It can be produced mostly in rainfed or dry-barren areas. Farmer brothers can grow Napier grass on the ridges of their fields.
This grass is one of the perennial green fodder crops providing green fodder throughout the year. Napier grass, once grown, continues to supply fodder for livestock for 4 to 5 years. Also, Napier grass is grass prepared at a very low cost. This does not require special care and chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Farmers can get 250 to 350 Napier grass quintals in one field acre.
3.Para Grass Farming For Fodder Crops
Para grass can be provided as green fodder in abundance to animals in summer. There is no higher capital investment in growing this grass. Para grass, or Angola (Brachiaria mutica), is a perennial nutritious forage crop. Moreover, it can be easily grown in high-moisture places and marshy lands. Para grass or Angola grass is not affected by floods. Instead, this grass grows very fast, like paddy.
However, animal husbandry can use para grass as green fodder. Its fodder contains 6 to 7 per cent protein content. The stem length of this grass is 1.5 to 2 meters, and the leaves are 25 to 30 centimeters long and 15 to 20 millimeters wide. Its stem is soft, smooth and contains hundreds of knots. The first harvesting of Para grass fodder crops should be done after 75 to 80 days of transplanting. After this, harvesting of green fodder should be done at 30 to 35 days in the rainy season and 35 to 40 days in the summer.
4.Growing Guinea Grass As Fodder Crops
Guinea grass is nothing less than a boon for cattle feed. Livestock-rearing farmers can obtain green fodder for many years by planting it as fodder crops. If animal rearers have a proper irrigation system, then by planting Guinea grass once, they can get green fodder throughout the year. At the same time, it provides green fodder even during dry and rainy seasons. However, Guinea grass can be planted in any area.
Along with this, loamy soil with good drainage is considered good for planting Guinea grass. The roots of fallen grass are transplanted in the field as fodder crops. For these fodder crops, the roots are first prepared in the nursery. Then, the prepared roots are transplanted in the fields in the month of July-August.
5.Alfalfa Grass Cultivation As Fodder Crops
This variety of fodder crops comes from a pulse crop, which is popular as the best green fodder crop for milch animals. Alfalfa crops are important fodder crops for areas with less than average rainfall. However, this grass crop is mainly grown in water-scarce states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh. Also, farmers prefer Ace mini tractors because the ACE mini tractor price is reasonable in India.
Moreover, Alfalfa grass is sown in the middle of October to November, which is ready for green fodder by the month of June. If the alfalfa grass fodder crops are planted for the first time, it is suggested to use culture. If the culture is unavailable, take out 40 to 45 kg of soil from the upper layer of the field where the Alfalfa grass fodder crops were planted earlier and mix it in the field where it needs to be planted. This Fodder grass can be grown in less water than Berseem. Alfalfa grass Should be sown in rows with a 20 to 30-cm gap. Moreover, it needs 20 to 25 kg of seeds per hectare for Alfalfa fodder crops.
For more details about profitable fodder crops, stay connected with us.
