Evaluation of dry matter yield and nutritive value of Sugar graze and Jumbo plus at different spacing in the yala season in the dry zone of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Background: A field experiment to evaluate the dry matter yield and nutritive value of Sugar graze and Jumbo plus under irrigation was conducted at three different plant spacings (15 x 30, 15 x 45, 15 x 60 cm) on a red-yellow latosol in the dry zone of Sri Lanka from March to June 2016. The design was a factorial randomised complete block design with three replications. Morphological parameters measured were plant height, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area and number of leaves per plant, inter-node elongation and stem girth. Chemical composition of forages, viz. crude protein, crude fibre, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and dry matter yield, was also determined. Results: There was no difference in the chemical composition of Sugar graze and Jumbo plus 60 days after planting. Sugar graze had significantly higher values (p < 0.05) for stem girth, leaf length, leaf width and leaf area 60 days after planting. Sugar graze produced significantly higher dry matter yield than Jumbo plus. The narrowest spacing 15 × 30 cm gave the highest yield than the other 2 spacings. Conclusions: It could be concluded that Sugar graze with 15 × 30 cm spacing will give more dry matter yield than Jumbo plus with similar chemical composition in the yala season of dry zone of Sri Lanka.

Effect of Change of Agronomic Practices on Nutritive Value of Hybrid Fodder Sorghum Cultivated in Lowland Paddy Fields of the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka

“…The influence of sorghum variety was found to be significant (P<0.05) on DM, OM, NDF, ADF, and ME contents and OMD but not on the CP content (P>0.05) of the harvest ( (Pushparajah and Sinniah, 2018). These values agree with the values recorded in the present study.…”

Evaluation of growth and yield performances of Napier grass cultivar pakchong-1 under different spacial patterns in the Kilinochchi district, Sri Lanka

“…On the other hand, plant growth is also interpreted by an increased leaf length of the plants. (Pushparajah and Sinniah, 2018b). In the present study the highest (P<0.05) leaf width was observed at 30cm × 30cm spacing at the 56 days after planting.…”

“…Successful forage production is one of the crucial factors for any ruminant production. Still, some problems need to be addressed concerning the feed for livestock in Sri Lanka (Pushparajah and Sinniah, 2018a). Especially, the availability of forage crop fields amongst all other agricultural fields as farmers so concerned about the cultivation of cereals and industrial crops (Gnanagobal and Sinniah, 2018).…”

Yield and Quality Feature of Some Silage Sorghum and Sorghum-Sudangrass Hybrid Cultivars in Ecological Conditions of Kırşehir Province

“…Hemicellulose, compared to cellulose is easily reduced to volatile fatty acids by the bacterial flora in rumen. Pushparajah and Sinniah (2018) stated that crude protein ratio, ADF ratio and NDF ratio of Sugar Graze and Jumbo Plus cultivars were reported between 8.8 and 7.5%, 47.1 and 45.5% and 69.4 and 70.6%, respectively. The aim of this study was to determine the yield and quality components of sorghum and sorghum-sudangrass hybrid cultivars in Kırşehir province which has a significant potential in livestock.…”