ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF DIFFERENT NAPIER HYBRIDS FOR PRODUCTIVITY AND FODDER QUALITY IN CHAMARAJANAGARA DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN DRY ZONE OF KARNATAKA

Abstract

Chamarajanagara district of Karnataka State possesses a substantial population of crossbred dairy cows (102,523 animals), making animal husbandry a principal subsidiary occupation. However, severe regional deficits in green fodder availability and crop nutritional quality present critical constraints to livestock productivity, causing depressed milk yields and deficient Solid-Not-Fat (SNF) percentages. To resolve this nutritional bottleneck, ICAR-KVK Chamarajanagara initiated a participatory on-farm testing framework across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 production cycles at Doddatuppuru and Bettadamadahalli villages in Gundlupet taluk. This study evaluated the localized agronomic performance, morpho-structural attributes, nutritional quality, fodder palatability, and production economics of four Hybrid Napier (Pennisetum purpureum × Pennisetum glaucum) cultivars: Co-3 (local check), Co 5, BNH 10, and PBN 342. The experimental results revealed that the advanced hybrid PBN 342 significantly outperformed all other evaluated varieties. PBN 342 achieved the highest cumulative annual green fodder yield (179.6 t/ha) and a superior Benefit-Cost (B:C) ratio of 3.0, followed by BNH 10 (173.60 t/ha; B:C: 2.9) and Co-5 (163.3 t/ha; B:C: 2.7), while the local check Co-3 recorded the lowest values (154.95 t/ha; B:C: 2.6). Structurally and biochemically, PBN 342 displayed an optimized leaf-to-stem ratio (0.78) and an elevated crude protein content (6.21%). Its smooth, non-hairy leaves (low trichome density) and succulent stems drove a high livestock palatability coefficient of 89.5%. Participatory farmer evaluations confirmed strong cattle preference for PBN 342, corresponding directly to a measurable daily lactation increase of 1.00 to 1.25 L/cow/day along with enhanced milk quality. Based on these findings, PBN 342 is recommended for targeted upscaling, large-scale block demonstrations, and district-wide popularization to ensure sustainable regional forage security.