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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Boise, Idaho » Northwest Watershed Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #57363
Title: PRODUCTIVITY OF CENCHRUS CILIARIS IN RELATION TO RAINFALL AND FERTILIZATION

Author
item RAO A S - CENTRAL ARID ZONE, INDIA
item SINGH K C - CENTRAL ARID ZONE, INDIA
item Wight, J

Submitted to: Society of Range Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The Indian arid region in Northwest India is characterized by low and variable rainfall. Arable farming is possible in only 1 of every 3 years. The main economy of this region is dependent on forage production to support its 23 million head of livestock. Forage production during normal rainfall years supplies less than 50% of the animals' fodder requirements. We studied the productivity of Cenchrus ciliaris, a major forage grass in this region, in relation to rainfall and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilization. The study showed that C. ciliaris can perform well even at relatively low levels of rainfall and that annual applications of 20 kilograms N per hectare will more than double forage yields 7 years out of 10. Averaged over the 10- year period, this N fertilizer treatment increased annual forage yields from 942 to 1785 kilograms per hectare. In terms of N-use efficiency, this translates to 42 kilograms of forage per kilogram of N applied and suggests that N fertilization may be a viable option for increasing forage production in this forage-deficient region.

Technical Abstract: Forage for livestock is always in short supply in the arid zone of India. Cenchrus ciliaris is one of the major forage grasses cultivated in this region. We studied its productivity in relation to rainfall and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilization in the Indian arid zone at Jodhpur during 1983 to 1992. Factorial combinations of 4 rates of N (0, 20, 40, and 60 kg ha-1) and 3 rates of P (0, 15, and 30 kg ha-1) were applied annually. Twenty kg ha-1 N was the most effective fertilizer treatment increasing average annual forage yields from 942 to 1785 kg ha-1 over the 10-year study with significant yield increases occurring 7 of the 10 years. Yield responses to N rates greater than 20 kg ha-1 occurred only during the last three years of the study and then only at the 60 kg ha-1 rate with either 15 or 30 kg ha-1 P. Yields reached maximum levels on both the nonfertilized and fertilized plots with between 180 to 250 mm of growing season rainfall.