Crop Production :: Forage Crops :: Guinea Grass

Season and Varieties

Zone District/ Season	Month	Varieties
Irrigated
All Districts	Throughout the year	CO 2 and CO (GG) 3
Rain fed
All Districts	Jun – Sep / Oct - Nov	CO 2 and CO (GG) 3

Particulars Of Guinea Grass Varieties

PARTICULARS	CO 2	CO (GG) 3
Parentage	CO 1 x Centenario	Clonal selection from Mumbasa
Duration (Days)	Perennial	Perennial
Green fodder yield (t/ha/year)	270 (7harvests)	340-360 (7harvests)
Morphological characters
Plant height (cm)	150-200	210-240
Number of tillers/clump	80-100	40-50
Leaf length (cm)	65-75	97- 110
Leaf width (cm)	2.5-2.9	3.2 - 4.5
Leaf-stem ratio	-	0.73
Quality characters
Dry matter (%)	25.94	20.2
Crude protein (%)	8.92	6.35
Crude fibre (%)	34.6	30.3
Phosphorus (%)	0.29	0.19
Calcium (%)	0.59	-
Magnesium (ppm)	0.38	-
IVDMD (%)	49.5	-

1. SOIL

      All types of soil with good drainage.

2. PREPARATORY CULTIVATION

Plough 2 to 3 times to obtain a good tilth and form ridges and furrows at 50 cm spacing.

3. MANURING

      Basal:  FYM 25 t/ha; NPK 50:50:40 kg/ha
      Top dressing:  25 kg N/ha after each cut.

4. SEED RATE

      2.5 kg/ha seeds or 40,000 rooted slips.

5. SPACING

      50x 50 cm

6. AFTER CULTIVATION

      Hoeing and weeding on 30th day after sowing. Earthing up once after harvests.

7. IRRIGATION

      Once in ten days or depending on soil condition.

8. PLANT PROTECTION

      Generally not recommended.

9. HARVEST

      First cut 75-80 days after germination or 45 days after planting of slips. Subsequent cuts at interval of 45 days.

10. GREEN FODDER YIELD : 260  t/ha per year in 8 cuts.

Note: Guinea grass can be intercropped with Desmanthus (Velimasal) at 3:1 ratio and can be
          harvested together and fed to the animals.

Seed production

Rooted slips uprooted from 90 days old crop can be used for further propagation.