FORAGE DEVELOPMENT
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8 t/ha DM. • Reproduction: Apomictic; seed yield 10–60 kg/ha. • Special merits: Excellent in drought and firing tolerance; recovers rapidly after drought-breaking rains.
Colored Guinea grass (Panicum coloratum L.) • Botanical description: Tufted perennial with variable habit, up to 150 cm high (Figure 8.14). • Adaptation: Adapted to drier (400 mm) lowland alluvial flood plains of southern Africa
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(Makarikari, Botswana) ♦ Altitude range: 500–2000 m.a.s.l. ♦ Climatic requirement: Rainfall 600–1200 mm; optimum temperature 17–21oC; susceptible to frost. ♦ Soil requirement: Adapted to red and black clay soils. It makes its best expression on black clay soils. Cultivation: Requires a well-prepared seedbed. Propagation is by seed at the rate of 5–7 kg/ha for broadcasting and 2–3 kg/ha for row planting; sowing depth 2 cm. Planting by rooted cuttings can also be done. ♦ Fertilizer requirement: Responds well to N application; reported to fix N (23 Kg/ha in 100 days). ♦ Companion species: Desmodium uncinatum, Neonotonia wightii, Macroptilium atropurpureum. Utilization: Good for grazing and haying. Productivity: Yields are usually around 12 t/ha DM but ranges of 5.8–18 t/ha DM have been reported. Reproduction: Cross-pollinated sexual, with some apomixis; seed yields 45–400 kg/ha. Special attributes: Drought-resistant; tolerates seasonal waterlogging.
Elephant grass (Napier grass, English or Zihone sar, Amharic) (Pennisetum purpureum) • Botanical description: Robust perennial with a vigorous root system, sometimes stoloniferous with •
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a creeping rhizome, culms 180–360 cm high (Figure 8.15). Adaptation: Best-adapted to high-rainfall areas. ♦ Altitude range: Sea level to 2000 m.a.s.l. ♦ Climatic requirement: Rainfall 1480–1620 mm/y; optimum temperature 25–40oC; resists drought if successfully established. Susceptible to frost. ♦ Soil requirement: Prefers deep, friable fertile soils. Cultivation: Full land preparation. ♦ Propagation: Usually by stem cuttings buried in 15 cm furrows, 2 nodes in soil and one exposed. One ha of grass provides planting material for 15–20 ha. ♦ Fertilizer requirement: Responds well to fertilizers applied after every cut. ♦ Companion species: C. pubescens, N. wightii, P. phaseoloides. Utilization: Commonly used in a cut-and-carry system; also made into silage. For grazing, it should be heavily stocked to maintain it in a lush vegetative form; best grazed when the new growth consists of 5 new leaves. Slash coarse leafless stems. Makes good hay if cut when young; usually made into silage of high quality without additives. Productivity: Highest DM yield recorded is 84.8 t/ha when it was fertilized with 987 kg N/ha/yr Sheep and Goat Production Handbook for Ethiopia