The herbage yield and quality of three grass species on two marginal maize soils at Potchefstroom

Nitrogen and Row Spacing on Digitaria eriantha Production and Digestibility

“…This species, native to South Africa (Rethman et al 1997), has a great adaptive capacity, a high production potential and a clear, positive response to N fertilization (Rethman 1987, Dannhauser 1991, Pieterse and Rethman 1995. It has not, however, always produced satisfactory responses in terms of animal production.…”

Impact of Abiotic Stress on Quality Traits of Maize Forage at Two Growth Stages

“…Some disagreeing studies pointed that drought stress has no effect on percentage of crude protein of maize forage [24,25] while others reported that drought has enhanced feed value, whereas salinity and heat stresses have mixed or no effects [16]. However, we think that drought stress joined with salt and heat stresses (as in this study) will have deleterious effects on the spectrum of nutritive elements since the compound effect of these factors will impede uptake of nutrients reported to play significant role on the content of crude protein [13].…”

“…Currently, 50% of all irrigation schemes are affected by salinity. The influence of abiotic stress on the quality of forage crops has been reported by many workers [11][12][13]. Crop growing season and plant developmental stages are other important factors that influence the forage quality [14].…”