Effect of irrigation intervals, nitrogen and phosphorus applications on forage yield, carbohydrate and protein content of guar (cyanoposis tetragonoloba)‎ in the central region of Saudi Arabia

Abstract EN

Guar is summer annual leguminous forage.

characterized as drought tolerant, deep rooted and seeds gum potentiality.

It could be adapted the environmental of the Central region of Saudi Arabia.

Two field experiments were carried out through 2000 and 2001 summer seasons to study the effect of expanding irrigation intervals, nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers on yield parameters, protein and carbohydrate content in guar foliage.

Treatments were irrigation intervals (5 and 10 days), nitrogen fertilizer (0 and 250 Kg/ha as ammonium nitrate 33% N) and phosphorus fertilizer (0, 125 and 250 Kg/ha super - phosphate 16% P20S).

Results showed that irrigation interval periods had highly significant effect on dry matter percentage (DM %), protein percentage (CP %) and carbohydrate %, while the effect was significant only at 5% on green forage, protein and carbohydrate yields.

There was no-significant effect on dry forage yield.

Application of nitrogen fertilizer had highly significant effect on all the parameters under study except dry matter percentage.

The same trend was obtained when phosphorus fertilizer treatments were applied.

There were no-significant differences between years except that for protein %, protein yield and carbohydrate yield.