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Effects of Defoliation on Yield and Forage Quality of Some Tropical Grasses, Legumes and their Mixtures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

A. E. Osman  and
A. A. Abu Diek
A. E. Osman
Affiliation:
Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Shambat, Sudan
A. A. Abu Diek
Affiliation:
Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Shambat, Sudan
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Summary

The performance of three tropical grasses and three legumes (buffel grass, rhodes grass, green panic, butterfly pea, phillipesara and alfalfa), grown in pure stand and in legume–grass mixtures, was evaluated over two seasons when cut monthly at 0, 7 or 14 cm high. Harvesting at 7 cm favoured total dry matter and crude protein production in all cases, with highest yields from butterfly pea grown alone. Buffel grass was the best dry matter producer among grasses in pure stand, while rhodes grass–butterfly pea mixture was the best legume–grass mixture. Forage of these low-protein tropical grasses could be significantly improved by growing them in mixture with legumes.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , April 1982 , pp. 157 - 166
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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References

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