Afrojack - Kern 500

Afrojack (Kern 500) is an open-pollinated African Tall fodder maize — a single-cut crop that fills the field fast with soft, leafy green fodder and is at its most valuable in the May–June fodder crisis.

One cut, not many

Kern 500 is sown once and cut once at 60–70 days, after which the field is free. It is not a multi-cut crop like napier or sorghum-sudan. For a continuous supply, sow in 2–3 lots, 15–20 days apart so cutting rolls through the season instead of arriving all at once.

Harvest

• Green fodder harvest: day 60–70, one clean cut low to the ground
• Green chop: cut at 50% flowering, roughly day 55–65
• Silage: let it reach milk to early-dough stage, roughly day 65–75
• Realistic yield: 120–160 quintal per acre (12–16 tonnes) under good management

Higher figures are seen on demo plots, but 120–160 quintal is what a well-managed field gives, and that is the number we quote.

Sowing calendar

• Punjab, Haryana, Western UP: Zaid mid-February–March, Kharif mid-May–30 June. The Zaid crop is the hero — it harvests straight into the summer fodder shortage
• Rajasthan: Kharif with monsoon onset; Zaid only where canal or tubewell water is assured. Tolerates heat up to about 45°C but must not wilt
• Jammu & Himachal: April–June as the valley warms; the cycle runs 5–10 days longer in cool weather
• Gwalior / black cotton soil: Kharif June–July, with drainage channels made first

How to sow

• Seed rate: 16–20 kg per acre for a thick fodder stand. Denser sowing gives more leaf and thinner, softer stems. Rates of 50–80 kg are wasteful for this crop
• Spacing: rows 30 cm apart, plants 10–15 cm
• Depth: 2–3 cm only — deeper sowing causes poor germination
• Irrigation: every 6–8 days in Zaid/summer; every 10–15 days in Kharif to fill monsoon gaps
• Pack size: 5 kg

The three things that decide the crop

• Nitrogen top-dressing at day 25–30 with irrigation — the single biggest yield lever. Skip it and tonnage drops
• Fall armyworm from day 20 onward, worst in Kharif and August. Scout the leaf whorls early and act on first sign
• Lodging — tall 7–9 ft plants can topple in heavy August wind and rain. Avoid heavy irrigation plus heavy nitrogen right before a big rain spell

Two honest notes

Seed colour: the natural grain of Afrojack is white. Treated seed looks reddish-pink because of the fungicide coating. This is normal and is not adulteration.

On "ready in 20 days" claims: germination alone takes 5–7 days. Honest green-fodder harvest is 60–70 days. Any 20-day claim will not survive contact with your field.

Saving your own seed

Kern 500 is open-pollinated, so you can let a small patch reach full grain maturity and save seed. It works reasonably for 2–3 seasons, though vigour and purity drift slowly. For your main commercial plot, fresh seed each season gives the most uniform stand.

Please remember the product code KERN-500 when ordering. Confirm sowing dates, fertiliser doses and crop protection for your own district with your Kern dealer or KVK.