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METHODS
No crop is grown for hay alone; most of those described are used for
sown pasture, or are field crops such as cereals or pulses. The cultural
techniques and levels of input for other uses may differ from those for
haymaking, and therefore that information should be sought elsewhere.
Cultivation for hay is discussed, with the emphasis on techniques suited
to small- and medium-scale farms. Hay crops are grown on arable land,
where they must compete with other field crops on the grounds of
profitability. As haymaking costs are proportional not only to the area
worked, but also to the weight of the crop, intensive to semi-intensive
methods aiming at high yields per unit area are therefore generally
advocated.
Where land scarcity is the major limiting factor, increased yield per unit
area may be the best way of improving fodder availability. This was
demonstrated in Pakistan in an FAO-assisted project (Bhatti and Khan,
1996). Fodder crops cover some 19% of Pakistan's total cropped area,
but there is still a chronic forage deficit; the area under fodder remained
static during 1977 - 1994, at around 2 600 000 ha, while yields rose over
20%, from 17.4 t/ha to 21.4 t/ha, during the period. Well-grown crops of
proven cultivars can produce 60 to 80 t/ha of green fodder (most fodder
is irrigated), but there are still problems in assuring the supply of good
seed and planting material at farm level.
In another study, in Punjab, Hanjra (1996) gives the results of 200 onfarm trials carried out over three years with the poorest and smallest
dairy farmers in central Punjab. The "improved" methods mostly had
three parameters which differed from the farmers' own methods: seed
quality; sowing method (including land preparation); and date of sowing.
The results are presented in Table 2. Yields are below the very high
levels attained on research units and some large farms, but the effect of
good seed, sown at the correct time, on a well prepared seed bed - all
cheap inputs - is striking, with yields improved by 20 to 40%, except for
sorghum, where no improved fodder cultivars are available.
Table 2. Yields of fodders with traditional and improved cultivation in the
Punjab
Percentage increase
Traditional Improved method
Sorghum
18.5
20.0
7.5
52.5
Maize
15.5
19.4
20.1
Berseem
26.3
38.5
30.9
Lucerne
25.0
34.4
27.3
Oats
15.0
24.6
39.0
Berseem+sarson+oats
32.0
41.3
22.5
Hybrid sorghum(1)
Land preparation
Clearing and levelling
Where fodder is cultivated for hay-making, the land must be prepared for
mowing as well as put into a fit state for sowing and establishing the
crop. Stones, stumps and termite mounds should be removed. Land with
a long history of cultivation by the plough may require little or no
treatment, but any field to be sown must be cleared of all obstructions to
harvesting equipment. Under rainfed conditions, land levelling to
facilitate mowing, as well as to make sowing of small seeds at even
depth possible, is often necessary: even small humps and hollows make
sowing at a uniform, shallow depth impossible and lead to gaps and
uneven stands. For irrigated crops, of course, proper levelling is
essential for effective water distribution. In-field irrigation structures
Irrigated hay
Fodder is a widespread irrigated crop in arid and semi-arid zones. Under
small-scale farming conditions, usually within a mixed farming system,
the greatest areas of cultivated fodder in the developing world are on
irrigated lands in the Near East and the Indian subcontinent, often in
wheat-rice farming systems and associated with milch buffaloes.
Irrigation areas specifically for fodder are rare in the small-scale farming
and pastoral sectors, but that in Xinjiang (Altai) (see Case Study 4 in
Chapter XI) is a notable exception. In the large-scale sector, however,
highly specialized fodder growing, again often associated with dairying,
is common. Irrigation layouts should be so designed as to present the
minimum hindrance to agricultural and haymaking equipment and should
allow easy access for transport of the bulky crop. An adequate drainage
system, to allow the fields to be dried off before mowing, is highly
desirable.
Components of an irrigation system
Irrigation is not an end in itself, nor does the simple supply of water and
seed to land assure a sustainable and economic increase in output.
There is a complex interaction between the land and water base,
agricultural practices and cropping choices, which interact on the system
and affect its production, profitability and labour efficiency. The
management and maintenance of irrigation require discipline; traditional
systems depend on a stable community decision-making system, and all
interventions require, well before proposal or execution, discussion at
Basin irrigation
Basin irrigation is the oldest and simplest system: a field is divided into
one or more basins; each basin is a piece of level land surrounded by a
bund which retains water until it has soaked into the soil. It can be
adapted to many crops and farming systems, but for fodder production it
is very labour demanding and practically precludes any mechanization of
harvesting, unless very large basins can be used. The in-field bunds
have to be removed at each cutting, and in the case of multi-cut crops,
reconstructed thereafter.
Border irrigation
Border irrigation (also known as border-check and border strips)
resembles basin irrigation in that the fields are divided into units by
bunds, but borders slope away from the farm channel in the direction of
water flow. They are not level and the method of irrigating is different.
The water is not retained on the field to soak in, but soaks in as it flows
over the land, so it is important to use the correct flow for the correct
duration to ensure that the correct amount of water infiltrates into the
soil. This system is much better suited to haymaking than is basin
irrigation. If cultivation and/or harvest is mechanized, border width
should fit the equipment to be used.
Furrow irrigation
This is the most widely used system for row-crops: water does not flow
over the entire soil area, but is confined to furrows between the crop
rows, and infiltrates into the bottom and sides of the furrow. It is excellent
for large fodder crops such as Napier grass, maize and sorghum, but it is
not suited to hay corps. If cultivation and/or harvest is mechanized, row
width should suit the equipment to be used.
Spate irrigation
Here the supply is dependent on torrents with only occasional flow, as
after heavy rain or snow-melt. Traditional offtakes are very labour
intensive, can often only be used when river levels are low, and may be
completely destroyed by snow-melt floods in summer at a season when
irrigated cropping can be very productive.
Qanat