Yield and Quality of Dual Purpose Sorghum-Fodder Cowpea Cropping System as Influenced by Integrated Nutrient Management

Integrated nutrient management in cropping system ensures higher fertilizer use efficiency through balanced combination of organic manures and chemical fertilizers. INM is required to stimulate sustainability in production of crops in cropping sequence. Sorghum is commonly grown for grain and fodder in different agro-climatic regions of Andhra Pradesh. The crop can be grown both in kharif and rabi season. In our country, sorghum provides a cheap source of dietary carbohydrate and energy. Sorghum is a C4 plant species however grain and fodder yields are low mainly because of low inputs. Since it is not precisely known that what would be the most advantageous combination of organic manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer to get maximum yield from sorghum crop, this experiment was formulated. Fodder cowpea is also included as rabi crop to quantify residual effect of nutrients in the system.