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The objective of the study was to compare the effects of alternative litter treatments on litter quality, growth, carcass traits and welfare of broiler chicks. Day old, commercial broiler chicks (180) having similar body weight range were randomly allocated to two different types of litter treatments, viz. treated litter at the rate of 120°C (T1) and litter treated with sodium bisulfate 25 g/sq. ft. (T2) along with the control group without any litter treatment (T0). Birds of all the treated groups performed better in terms of growth, feed intake and FCR, etc. Cake formation was frequent, highest in T0 followed by T1 and T2 groups which in turn affected the frequency of undesirably poor sanitary outlook of the birds. Significantly lower EPG (E. coli count per gram) count while a numerically lower microbial load of the faecal samples was noted in the T2 than T1 and control. This implied the change in the pH and acidification of litter materials prevented the growth of coccidia and microbial load in the litter, thus making the litter more suitable for bird welfare. It was concluded that chemical litter amendments had a beneficial effect on overall growth performance, carcass characteristics, health and welfare of broiler chicks.

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of the maize particle size on the performance of layers. Five maize-soybean based diets were formulated with maize particle size of 4.0, 6.0, 8.0, 10.0 and 12.0 mm sieve size with five treatments (T1: 4.0 mm mash diet; T2: 6.0 mm mash diet; T3: 8.0 mm mash diet; T4: 10.0 mm mash diet; T5: 12.0 mm mash diet) fed from 20 to 28 weeks of age. Each treatment was replicated three times, with 10 birds in each replicate. The results showed no significant difference in average daily feed intake, live weight, hen day egg production percentage, egg mass and egg indices except for haugh unit, which was highest for the 4 mm screen size and lowest for the 12 mm screen size in layers from 20 to 28 weeks of age. FCR (g/g egg mass) was highest for T3 as compared to the average of other treatments not affected by either of the feeds. In conclusion, the size of the screen used to mill the grain had no impact on hen production within the range of the study. Furthermore, the decision to grind grains more coarsely than is already customary would be favourable for the environment and the economy because it would reduce the amount of energy, labour, and time utilised in feed mills.

SUMMARYIn a 3-year study, maize (Zea maysL.) sown on 11 November or 1 December produced longer ears, higher grain yield per plant and greater grain yield per hectare than maize sown on 21 October. However, 100-kernel weight was greater when the crop was sown on 21 October and 11 November than on 1 December. There were no differences in yield characters or grain yield between cultivars or between row orientation. The sowing dates, maize cultivars and row direction had no influence on the number of ears per plant.

SUMMARYIn a 2-year field study, leguminous fodder crops (cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba)) responded more to P than did nonleguminous fodder crops (maize (Zea mays), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum)). The local cultivar of tall wheat, C306, yielded more when sown after fallow or legumes than after nonlegumes. Wheat sown after fallow or legumes produced more ear-bearing tillers and more grains per ear than when sown after nonleǵumes. Wheat sown after fallow or legumes responded to N application of up to 20 kg/ha, while when sown after nonlegumes it responded linearly to the highest rate of 60 kg/ha. Thus, preceding fallow, cowpea and cluster bean reduced the N requirement of wheat by 20–40 kg/ha compared with preceding maize, sorghum and pearl millet. Nitrogen increased grain yields only at applications of up to 40 kg/ha because lodging occurred at the higher rates. A cluster bean-wheat cropping sequence proved the most profitable.

SummaryA 2-year field study indicated that pearl millet yielded more when sown after fallow, cow pea and green gram than after maize. Preceding fallow, cow pea and green gram reduced the nitrogen requirement of pearl millet by 40 kg/ha compared with maize. Pearl millet responded linearly up to the highest rate of nitrogen (80 kg/ha). N applied to millet had no residual effect on the subsequent crop of chickpea. The chickpea yield followed the order fallow > green gram ≥ cow pea > maize. Chickpea responded to phosphorus up to 40 kg/ha. Green gram-pearl millet-chickpea proved the most profitable cropping sequence. Continuous cropping and application of nitrogen and phosphorus improved the organic carbon and available phosphorus but decreased the available potassium status of the soil.

SummaryIn a 2-year field study, all the maize cultivars tried (Partap-1 Ageti-76, Ganga-5 and DHM-103) produced similar length of ears and equivalent grain yields. However, Partap-1 and Ganga-5 produced greater 100-kernel weight and greater grain yield per ear but fewer ears per hectare than Ageti-76 and DHM-103. The yield attributes and grain yields of maize sown on 19 December, 29 December and 8 January were identical and were superior to those of the 19 January sowing. Maize sown on 19 December, 29 December and 8 January exhibited longer ears, more ears and fully developed kernels and thereby produced greater grain yields than the 18 January sowing.During 1983–4, in the 19 December and 29 December sowings all the cultivars gave identical grain yields. In the 8 January sowing Partap-1 and Ageti-76 produced similar yields and proved better than Ganga-5 and DHM-103. In the 18 January sowing Ageti-76, Ganga-5 and DHM-103 yielded more than Partap-1.

SummaryIn a 2-year study, sunflower oultivar EC 69874 produced greater leaf area than EC 68415, but gave similar grain yields. The former was superior in leaf area, head size and yield per plant but was inferior in 100-seed weight. The leaf area was greater at lower plant density (5·5 plants/m2), which resulted in higher 100-seed weight, number of seeds per plant and yield per plant than higher plant density (11·1 plants/m2). Plant density had no influence on the percentage of filled seeds or oil content. Application of nitrogen improved the leaf area, flowerhead size, percentage of filled seeds, 100-seed weight, yield per plant and grain yield up to 60 kg/ha but decreased the oil content.