Preliminary assessment of the productivity of the introduced grass Digitaria decumbens Stent. (Pangola grass) and three native grass species in Ghana
1978
Tetteh, A., Animal Animal Research Institute, P.o. Box 20, Achimota, Ghana (present address: William R. Tolbert, Jr. College of Agriculture and Forestry,University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia)
The productivity of Digitaria decumbens Stent. (Pangola grass) and three native grass species, Andropogon gayanus Kunth (Gamba grass), Panicum maximumlacq. (Guinea grass) and Heteropogon contortus Roem and Schult (Spear grass), were compared. Digitaria decumbensperformed well in the 1st year owing to its ease of establishment in the new environment. In the subsequent years, however, the three native species outyielded Digitaria, Cutting and also the interval of cutting seemed to have greater effect on Digitaria than on the other species. Thesemightdirectly be related to the habit of growth of Digitaria which, unlike the other species, is a prostrate grass, spreading by stolons which carry the young active buds. Severe injury can be done by the type of cutting and interval of cutting on Digitaria. In growing Digitaria, therefore, sound cultural methods aimed at reducing destruction of the young buds would be of an advantage to the species to maintain it's level of productivity.
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