Abstract
We investigated a new method for the establishment of dwarf Napiergrass by covering stem cuttings with soil in the winter season analogously to summer establishment in sugarcane. Three experiments were conducted, including measuring the labor involved in plant establishment, and an extension study was applied to livestock producers’ fields in two locations. Using this technique, we obtained an emerged plant density of over two plants/m2. Moreover, this proved a simple and labor-saving method compared with manual or mechanical transplanting. Sowing of Italian ryegrass at the same time as covering cuttings of dwarf Napiergrass with soil could control spring weed growth without disturbing the emergence of dwarf Napiergrass, suggesting the feasibility of a double-cropping forage production system in the region.
Highlights
A dwarf variety of the late-heading type of Napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) shows high winter survival in northern [1,2] and southern [3,4] Kyushu, Japan
At the current experimental sites, dwarf Napiergrass is cultivated as a perennial species and it can be incorporated into the cropping system with winter annual Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam, IR)
In Experiment 1, to determine the feasibility of using stem-cuttings planted in the field for propagation of dwarf Napiergrass in the winter season, compared with the conventional method of plant establishment, we investigated the missing plant rate and density of plants that emerged in the spring after planting in late November using our cultivation method
Summary
A dwarf variety of the late-heading type of Napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) shows high winter survival in northern [1,2] and southern [3,4] Kyushu, Japan. This grass can yield dry matter (DM) at 20 t/ha in the second year after establishment [1]. At the current experimental sites, dwarf Napiergrass is cultivated as a perennial species and it can be incorporated into the cropping system with winter annual Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam, IR). Dwarf Napiergrass consists of a single genotype, and no selection or breeding of this genotype has been conducted yet in the current site
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