Effects of Fertilization and Harvesting Age on Yield and Quality of Desho (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Pennisetum pedicellatum&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;) Grass Under Irrigation, in Dehana District, Wag Hemra Zone, Ethiopia

Awoke Kefyalew,Alemu Tsegaye,Berhanu Alemu

doi:10.11648/j.aff.20200904.13

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to evaluating the effects of fertilizer and harvesting age on agronomic performance, chemical composition and economic feasibility of Desho (Pennisetum Pedicellatum) grass under irrigation, in Ethiopia. A factorial arrangement with four fertilizer types (control, urea, compost and urea + compost), and three harvesting ages (90, 120 and 150) with three replications were used. Data on morphological characteristics of the grass were recorded. Based on the data collected, harvesting age was significantly affected the agronomic parameters of the grass. Plant height (PH), number of tillers per plant (NTPP), number of leaves per plant (NLPP), number of leaves per tiller (NLPT), dry matter yield (DMY), leaf length (LL) and leaf area (LA) were increased with increasing harvesting age, while leaf to stem ratio (LSR) showed a decreasing trend. NDF, ADF and ADL content were also increased with increasing age, while ash declined with age. Fertilizer was also significantly affected the agronomic parameter of Desho grass. A mixture of 50 kg urea (U)/ha and 6,000 kg compost/ha was provided the highest NTPP, NLPP, NLPT, and DMY, while NF (control) was the lowest in all parameters. Highest NDF, ADF, ADL and ash content were recorded at the control group. In general, using a mixture of 50 kg urea (U)/ha and 6,000 kg compost/ha fertilizer is the most important for long-term Desho grass production which provides a high benefit-cost ratio. Further research is needed in different organic and inorganic fertilizer combinations.

Highlights

Ethiopia is believed to have the largest livestock population in Africa [1]
The district is bordered in the south by North Wollo Zone, in the west by the Tekezé River which separates it from South Gondar Zone and in the north by North Gondar Zone and Zikuala, in the northeast by Soqota, and in the east by Gazgibla district
Greater leaf length was recorded for later harvesting ages (150 days) than for the earlier periods of 90 and 120 days in case of Desho grass (23)

Summary

Introduction

Ethiopia is believed to have the largest livestock population in Africa [1]. The livestock sector is a significant contributor to Ethiopia’s economy at the national and household level [2]. Despite the significant importance of livestock in the country, the productivity has remained low due to different constraints like inadequate feed, widespread disease, poor health care services, poor genetic potential of indigenous animals and insufficient knowledge on the dynamics of the different farming systems existing in the country [5]. Of these factors, the most limiting one is the feed shortage in terms of quantity and quality [6]. Among which Desho grass is found to be the most promising one based on the results obtained from preliminary studies [7]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion