Herbage and seed yield of three sudangrass varieties as influenced by sowing rate and cutting frequency
1997
Akash, M.W.
The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of sowing rates and cutting frequency(treatment) on herbage and grain yield of three sudangrass varieties: Common sudangrass, Sudangrass hybrid GII and Grazer N2 sudangrass hybrid. A split-split-plot design with four replicates was used with five sowing rates: 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100kg ha** (-1), and four cutting frequencies left for grain production (control), cut once then left for grain production and finally cut three times, then left for grain production. It was found that Sugar sudangrass hybrid GII and Grazer N2 gave higher yield compared with common sudangrass variety, which was the least productive variety among the three varieties used. However, common sudangrass attained max panicle length 22 cm, peduncle diameter 3.7 mm, and peduncle length 14 cm. Total dry and fresh herbage yield (ton ha** (-1)), total number of tillers per square meter and number of leaves per square meter increased as cutting frequency increased. Leaf: stem ratio and stem diameter decreased from thr first to the fourth cut, while plant height, tillers and leaves number per square meter were higher at the second cut (167 cm, 80/m**2 and 440/m**2, respectively). Several conclusions can be applied as follows: the optimum sowing rate for maximum grain and biological yield was 60 kg ha** (-1). Both, cutting treatment of zero and one cut, produced the higher biological yield. Increasing number of harvests will increase the herbage yield, but at the same time, will decrease the grain yield. Finally, sudangrass hybrid GII and Grazer N2 have a similar productivity superior to the common sudangrass variety.
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