bajra fodder pearl millet green fodder dairy hybrid cutting HCN multicut
Can I grow bajra as fodder and is it good for dairy animals?
HHardik Patel9mo ago · 307 views
6 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓8mo ago
Yes, bajra is a good summer and kharif green fodder for dairy animals, and there are dedicated fodder bajra and multicut bajra-napier hybrids that give heavy green tonnage and palatable, fairly nutritious feed. Sow with a higher seed rate than grain bajra for a dense leafy crop, give adequate nitrogen and irrigation for regrowth, and take the first cut at around the flowering or pre-flowering stage, with further cuts in multicut types. Like other young millet and sorghum fodders, avoid feeding very young, stunted or drought-stressed regrowth in large amounts to ruminants because of possible toxicity risk in some sorghum-type fodders, though bajra is generally safer than young jowar. Mixing with a legume fodder improves the ration. Choose a fodder or multicut variety and confirm cutting management with your local KVK.
JJentibhai8mo ago
Multicut bajra-napier keeps my buffaloes in green fodder all summer. More seed and good water give a thicker, leafier crop.
BBheru Singh7mo ago
In Rajasthan I grow fodder bajra mixed with a little cowpea, and the animals eat the mix better and the milk is good. The legume in the mix balances the feed, as my dairy vet suggested.
NNaranbhai Chaudhary7mo ago
One caution: I never feed the regrowth too young, especially after a dry spell, because of the toxicity risk in stressed sorghum-type fodders. I let it grow past the early stage and irrigate well before cutting to be safe.
RRamesh Lamba6mo ago
In Haryana I take a cut at the pre-flowering stage when the green tonnage and quality are both good, instead of letting it get too old and stemmy. Cutting at the right stage gave better feed and quicker regrowth for the next cut.
GGanpat Patil6mo ago
One tip from Maharashtra: I make surplus summer bajra fodder into silage so it does not go waste when growth is heavy. Storing the extra as silage carried my animals through the lean dry months.