Enhancing Forage Harvest, Digestibility and Nutrient Profiles in Forage Sorghum via Synergistic Application of Micronutrients and Plant Growth Regulators

The present field investigation was conducted to evaluate the effect of micronutrient application and plant growth regulators on forage harvest, nutrient profiles and digestibility of forage sorghum. The investigation was carried out during the summer seasons of 2020, 2021 and 2022 at Fodder farm, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, CSKHPKV, Palampur, India. The field experiment consisted of ten treatments which were Trt1: Triacontanol 10 ppm, Trt2: Salicylic acid 100 ppm, Trt3: 5 kg Zinc ha^− 1, Trt4: 2 kg Boron ha^− 1, Trt5: 5 kg Zinc ha^− 1 + 2 kg Boron ha^− 1, Trt6: 5 kg Zinc ha^− 1 + triacontanol 10 ppm, Trt7: 5 kg Zinc ha^− 1 + salicylic acid 100 ppm, Trt8: 2 kg Boron ha^− 1 + triacontanol 10 ppm, Trt9: 2 kg Boron ha^− 1 + salicylic acid 100 ppm, Trt10: 5 kg Zinc ha^− 1 + 2 kg Boron ha^− 1 + triacontanol 10 ppm, Trt11: 5 kg Zinc ha^− 1 + 2 kg Boron ha^− 1 + salicylic acid 100 ppm and Trt12: Water spray. The findings of the field investigation revealed that applying 5 kg Zinc ha^− 1 + 2 kg Boron ha^− 1 + salicylic acid 100 ppm resulted in substantially higher forage harvest, nutritive value, crop profitability and improved dry matter digestibility as indicated by lower fibre content and considerably higher values for digestibility indicators. Therefore, based on the outcomes of the present investigation it was observed that integrating plant growth regulators along with micronutrient application will boost up crop nutrient profiles as well as forage harvest and farmer incomes.