Effect of Intercropping and Herbicide-Based Weed Management Strategies on Growth, Nutrient Uptake, Productivity and Profitability of Fodder Sorghum

Abstract

Sorghum is a highly climate-resilient crop with strong potential as a fodder source, but its productivity is severely affected by weed infestation. To study this, a field experiment was conducted during the Kharif season of 2021–2022 at the Instructional Farm, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, and Udaipur. The experiment used a randomized block design with twelve treatments, each replicated three times. Treatments included pre- and post-emergence applications of various herbicides (Atrazine, Metolachlor, Pyroxasulfone, 2, 4-D), intercropping with cowpea or blackgram, and manual weeding. Results showed that weed free treatment was most effective, yielding the highest green (66.49 t/ha) and dry fodder (14.84 t/ha). Whereas, the combined application of atrazine (T5) as both pre- and post-emergence was the most effective under weed control treatments. HCN content, an indicator of fodder quality, remained consistent across treatments. The weed-free treatment (T11), maintained by hand weeding at 15 and 35 days after sowing, resulted in the highest nutrient uptake (N: 96.97 kg/ha, P: 28.24 kg/ha, K: 179.89 kg/ha), surpassing the weedy check. Economically, T11 recorded the highest net return (₹103,356/ha), followed closely by T5 (₹103,271/ha). T5 also recorded the highest benefit-cost ratio (3.48), making it the most profitable herbicide-based treatment. These findings highlight T5 as an effective and economically viable weed management strategy for improving sorghum fodder yield.