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Yield and quality of two species of Pennisetum in Ecuador

Abstract:

Pennisetum species are widely used as forage for their high biomass production. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the height of the plant, proportion leaf shaft, yield and the quality of the forages King grass (Pennisetum purpureum x Pennisetum typhoides) and Maralfalfa (Pennisetum sp) in the dry season. Treatments were four stages of maturity (45; 60; 75 and 90 days). The plant height; leaf: stem ratio; yield of dry matter; organic material was evaluated. The protein and crude fiber and ether extract were determined by AOAC. The design was randomized block. For the comparison between means the multiple range test of Tukey was used. The analyses of the data were carried out using the statistical program Statistic version 8 for Windows For both species the height increased to 60 days of age (p<0.005). Moreover, the leaf: stem ratio decreased in both forages, with differences between treatments. The plant performance increased according to the maturity of the material and the highest values were reported at 90 days. Generally regrowth age affected the quality of forages King grass and Maralfalfa, with best percentages of protein and organic material when it were cut between 60 to 75 days. We conclude that the cut age had a marked effect on the indicators evaluated to improve performance, and reduce the rest of agronomic variables. For its part, the quality did not show a definite behavior.