DUAL PURPOSE CANOLA: GRAZING AND GRAINS OPTIONS

Dual purpose canola can be a viable option to provide sufficiently high quality forage to livestock in the shortfall period during the months of December and January along with seeds. A field experiment was conducted at New Developmental Farm (NDF) of the University of Agriculture Peshawar Pakistan during winter 2013-14. The aims of the experiment were to study the effects of grazing on yield, yield components, biomass accumulation and weed biomass of canola and to evaluate grazing as an option in canola. The results indicated number of plants at harvest were large in ungrazed plots as compared to grazed plots however, branches plant-1 were not affected by grazing. Yield and yield components were greatly suppressed by grazing. Pods pod-1, grains pod-1, thousand grain weight, grain yield, biological yield were significantly higher in ungrazed plots as compared to grazed plots. Similarly, plants were taller in ungrazed plots and short in grazed plots. In contrast, grazed plots produced higher weeds fresh and dry weight as compared to ungrazed plots. It was concluded that grazing increased the weeds’ biomass and decreased the yield and yield components of canola significantly.