Mohammed Sirajul Islam
Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute Regional Station, Baghabari, Shahjadpur, Sirajganj-6770, Bangladesh
Nathu Ram Sarker
Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, Savar, Dhaka-1341, Bangladesh
Md. Yousuf Ali
Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute Regional Station, Baghabari, Shahjadpur, Sirajganj-6770, Bangladesh
Md. Ahsan Habib
Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, Savar, Dhaka-1341, Bangladesh
Md. Mostain Billah*
Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute Regional Station, Baghabari, Shahjadpur, Sirajganj-6770, Bangladesh
Mohammad Salah Uddin
Bangladesh Milk Producers Co-operative Union Limited
Md. Rezwanul Habib
Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute Regional Station, Baghabari, Shahjadpur, Sirajganj-6770, Bangladesh
Loamy and sandy soil, Napier-4, Dry matter, Metabolizable energy
Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) Regional Station, Baghabari, Shahjadpur, Sirajganj-6770. Bangladesh
Crop-Soil-Water Management
Fodder, Soil Physical Properties
Experimental site and layout The experiment was conducted at Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) Regional Station, Baghabari, Shahjadpur, Sirajganj-6770. Bangladesh has divided into 30 agro-ecological zones (AEZ) based on soil type and texture which AEZ-1 to AEZ-30. Among all AEZ, this study area belonged to the Karatoya-Bangali flood plain agroecological zone (AEZ-4). Cultivation procedure BLRI Napier-4 fodder was cultivated in both loamy and sandy soils. These loamy and sandy soils were considered as treatments and each having three replicational plots. Each of the plot size was 17ft × 10ft. BLRI developed high yielding Napier-4 fodder was propagated by stem cutting method and sowed in rows. Line to line and plant to plant distances were 70 and 30 cm, respectively. Weeding was performed for removing undesirable grasses, bushes and plants according to the schedule with the aid of utensils like sickle, chen, spade etc. were done to Irrigation was done by using plastic pipe through a canal with the help of deep tube-well.
Soil properties Loamy and sandy soils were tested for pH, nitrogen, organic matter, salinity and mineral contents at the Central Laboratory of Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI), Krishi Khamar Sharak, Farmgate, Dhaka. Constituents of loamy and sandy soils.
Data recording and proximate analysis at third cutting stage During third cutting stage various productive parameters were studied. Plant height, stem length, leaf length of the fodder was measured by using measuring tape in centimeter (cm). Also, records were taken for number of leaf per stem, number of till per hill, yield per hill (kg) and total biomass yield (Ton/acre). The representative fodder samples were collected from each treatment at the time of harvesting. Freshly harvesting fodder samples were chopped into small pieces up to 1-2 cm, weighed and sun dried for 2-3 d. After proper sun drying, the samples were kept in a drying oven (DZF series hot air vacuum drying oven DZF-6050 vacuum drying oven, Xingang, Tianjin, China) at a temperature of 105ºc for determination of dry matter. The dried samples were then grounded by using grinding machine (Christy and Nornis Limited, England, Serial No.: 47466). After grinding, the samples were kept into polythene bag, labeled and stored for chemical analysis. Then BLRI developed Napier-4 fodder was analyzed as described by AOAC (2000) for knowing the different nutrient contents at Animal Nutrition Laboratory, Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute Regional Station, Shahjadpur, Sirajganj-6770.
Statistical Analysis One way ANOVA was performed using statistical package for the social science software (SPSS, IBM-17 Corporation, 2014) to investigate the soil effects on productive and nutritive value of Napier-4 fodder.
International Journal of Applied Research 4, 20-23 Online release 10 Mar 2018
Journal