Growth Analysis of Fodder Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] as Influenced by Varieties and Harvesting Stages under Temperate Conditions of Kashmir
Ishrat Mumtaz
Division of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST-Kashmir, Wadura, Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, 193201, India.
Khursheed Ahmad Dar
Division of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST-Kashmir, Wadura, Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, 193201, India.
Tauseef Ahmad Bhat *
Division of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST-Kashmir, Wadura, Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, 193201, India.
Aijaz Nazir
Division of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST-Kashmir, Wadura, Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, 193201, India.
Ashu Sharma
Division of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST-Kashmir, Wadura, Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, 193201, India.
Fehim Jeelani Wani
Division of Agricultural Economics and Statistics, Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST-Kashmir, Wadura, Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir 193201, India.
M. Auyoub Bhat
Division of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST-Kashmir, Wadura, Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir 193201, India.
Shijaatt Hussain Bhat
Division of Agricultural Extension and Communication, Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST-Kashmir, Wadura, Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir 193201, India.
Nazim Hamid Mir
ICAR-IGFRI, Regional Research Station Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir 190005, India.
Tahira Mumtaz
Division of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST-Kashmir, Wadura, Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir 193201, India.
Syed Andleeba Jan
Division of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST-Kashmir, Wadura, Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir 193201, India.
Tabasum Bhat
Division of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST-Kashmir, Wadura, Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, 193201, India.
Zainab Ashraf
Division of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, SKUAST-Kashmir, Wadura, Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, 193201, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Fodder scarcity is a severe constraint for livestock production in the temperate valley of Kashmir, where production falls short of the actual requirement. Cultivation of high-yielding fodder crops is one of the practical means, and fodder sorghum ranks among the best-suited crops because of its rapid growth, high biomass production, and wide adaptability. Dry matter accumulation in a crop follows a characteristic pattern that varies with variety and harvesting stage. A field investigation was carried out over two consecutive Kharif seasons of 2024 and 2025 at the Research Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, SKUAST-Kashmir, India, to characterise the dry matter accumulation and partitioning over time in two fodder sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) varieties harvested at three stages. The experiment was laid out in a factorial randomised block design with four replications. The experiment consisted of two factors: variety and harvesting stage. The two varieties MP Chari (V₁) and SFG-5000 (V₂) were harvested at three stages, viz., flowering (S₁), soft dough (S₂) and hard dough (S₃). Crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR) and net assimilation rate (NAR) were recorded at 20-40 days after sowing, 40-60 days after sowing and 60 days after sowing to harvest. Leaf area index (LAI) was determined at 20, 40, 60 days after sowing and at harvest. MP Chari recorded the highest LAI from 40 DAS onwards, attaining peak values at harvest (4.595 and 5.637). Among the harvesting stages, the highest LAI was reported at the flowering stage (4.782 and 5.817). MP Chari proved significantly superior to SFG-5000 in CGR and NAR. During the 40-60 DAS interval, MP Chari recorded the highest CGR values (24.73 and 39.11 g m-2 day-1) and NAR values (9.13 and 11.54 g m-2 day-1). At all intervals, the effect of harvesting stage on CGR was non-significant, whereas significant responses in RGR and NAR were observed during the 60 DAS-to-harvest interval, where the flowering stage recorded the highest RGR (32.30 and 27.06 mg g-1 day-1) and the hard dough stage recorded the highest NAR (5.98 g m-2 day-1 during 2025).
Keywords: Fodder sorghum, MP Chari, SFG-5000, harvesting stage, leaf area index, crop growth rate, relative growth rate, net assimilation rate