Corn silage is an important feed for intensive ruminant production but the growing of corn has relied heavily on the use of chemical fertilizer. Sustainable crop production requires a careful management of all nutrient sources available in a farm, particularly in corn-based cropping systems. Experiments were conducted to determine the appropriate technology of corn-legume intercropping with supplemental use of chemical, organic manure, and biofertilizer. Combining chemical fertilizers with chicken manure in a 50:50 ratio and application of 50% NPK+ 50%, chicken manure (CM)+ biofertilizer (BF) resulted in similar dry matter (DM) yield with the 100% NPK treatment. Inorganic fertilizer (100% NPK) gave the highest DM yield (13.86 t/ha) of forage among single fertilizer treatments and it outyielded the chicken manure (100% CM) (9.74 t/ha) treatment. However, when CM was combined with NPK, the DM yield of forage (13.86 t/ha) and was the same as the 100% NPK (13.68 t/ha). Combinations of NPK and chicken manure resulted in increased plant height; crop growth rate (CGR) and leaf area index (LAI) compared to CM alone but was similar to 100% NPK application. The ratio of 50% CM + 50% NPK and 50%CM+50%NPK+BF recorded protein yield similar to those of conventional fertilizer. Similarly, CP content was not significantly different among 100% NPK and 50% CM+50% NPK. Use of biofertilizers had no significant impact on improving either yield or quality of forage fertilized with inorganic or organic fertilizers. Lactic acid responded differently to different fertilizer application and was significantly higher than the no fertilizer plots. Treatments with an application of biofertilizer and combination of biofertilizer with NPK or CM treatments gave higher values of acetylene reduction assay (ARA) (compared to sole chemical and sole organic manure fertilizers. Overall, evidence recorded from this study prove that corn-soybean intercrops could increase forage quantity and quality, produce higher total protein yield, decrease requirements for protein supplements and chemical fertilizer compared to the corn monoculture with a combination of chicken manure and chemical fertilizer.
The Effect of Organic Manure and Potassium Fertilizers on Growth, Yield and Fruit Quality of Anna Apple Trees
