Abstract

Introduction of cowpea as a companion crop has often been recommended to improve the quality of sorghum forage (Mann and Barnes, 1953; Henderson and Davis, 1955; Garg, 1961; Tawaka et al., 1962; Kalinina, 1962 and Shpakora, 1962). Although quality of forage as a result of companion cropping with legume may increase but quantitative loss in forage production has often been observed because legumes are inefficient producers of dry matter as compared to sorghum. Ayyangar (1942) reported that yield of sorghum was reduced when sown mixed with pulses. Thompson (1958) and Dey et al (1958) also observed suppression in the growth of sorghum due to heavy intertwining effect of legumes. Since area under forage crops is limited because of its greater need for food production, it is necessary to work out the practices which may increase the quality of sorghum forage without causing any quantitative loss. This calls for improvement in forage evaluation than used hitherto. With these objectives in mind a field experi- ment comprising various agronomic practices was planned.

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