Adaptability and productivity of some warm‐season pasture species in a Mediterranean environment

Abstract

Warm-season grasses and legumes have the potential to provide forage throughout the Mediterranean summer when there are high temperatures and low rainfall and when cool-season grasses become less productive. Twenty-nine non-native, warm-season pasture species (twenty-three grasses and six legumes) were assessed for their adaptability to the coastal plain of southern Italy in terms of their productivity and nutritional quality. The investigated species were compared with two reference species widely used in a Mediterranean environment: a grass (Festuca arundinacea) and a legume (Medicago sativa). The species differed in their phenological and biological characteristics, i.e. start of vegetative resumption, first flowering and cold resistance, from each other and from the control species. From the second year after establishment, warm-season perennial grasses had high dry-matter (DM) yields and, in many cases, a more than adequate nutritional quality. As for legumes, the control, M. sativa gave the best results in all the investigated characters. Among the grasses, seven species (Chloris gayana, Eragrostis curvula, Panicum coloratum, Paspalum dilatatum, Pennisetum clandestinum, Sorghum almum, Sorghum spp. hybrid) had DM yields greater than the control species and had their maximum growth during the hottest period of the year, when F. arundinacea, the control grass species, was dormant. Eragrostis curvula had the highest annual DM yield (21·1 t ha−1) and P. clandestinum provided the best combination of agronomic and yield characteristics which were similar to those of M. sativa. The seven above-mentioned species have the potential to supply hay or grazing and contribute to broadening and stabilizing the forage production calendar in Mediterranean-type environments

Sorghum and black oat forage production and its nutritive value under phosphate levels

“…For both crops phosphate levels were unable to affect the CP concentration (Figure 3a, 3b and 3c), reporting that soil available P at a medium level is enough for keeping high CP in the forage. Working with Sorghum bicolor and Sorghum almunn in Italy, Gherbin et al (2006) also reported a similar data of the present work in the first year, with mean levels of 112 and 121 g CP kg -1 of DM respectively. Moreover, no influence of P fertilization on sorghum CP concentration was observed.…”

Fusion of Ultrasonic and Spectral Sensor Data for Improving the Estimation of Biomass in Grasslands with Heterogeneous Sward Structure

“…However, sward structures were so complex at later stages of the grazing season, that even sensor combinations did not produce satisfactory results. Considering the consequences of these limitations for the implementation of sensor data fusion in precision agriculture, it should be noted that the productivity of cool-season pastures is usually highest in the first half of the growing season [46] when the best results with combined sensor data were obtained. Thus, sensor data fusion gains more importance in this particular part of the vegetation period, when efficient and timely estimates of available biomass is most relevant for grazing management decisions.…”

Nutritive value of some tropical grasses used by traditional small farms in the highlands of Burundi

“…The DM yields were within the range of values recorded on tropical grasses (Gherbin et al 2007). The DM yield of T. laxum was lower than that of S. sphacelata.…”