Theme 2-2: Forage Production and Utilization--Poster Sessions

Description

Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus Schumach L.) is an important perennial forage native to Africa and grown in many tropical and subtropical countries. It is considered as a short-term drought tolerant forage which is a useful trait in areas that are characterized by low precipitation during the dry season. To exploit the potential of this grass and identify water use efficient (WUE) genotypes, a field drought stress trial was conducted at Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Eighty-four Napier grass genotypes were planted in a p-rep design in four replications. The genotypes were evaluated for forage performance during the dry season of 2019 and 2020 based on agro-morphological traits under two soil moisture regimes- moderate water stress (MWS) and severe water stress (SWS). The results indicated the existence of significant diversity among the genotypes for agro-morphological traits and photosynthetic performance. Consistently high biomass producing genotypes with enhanced water use efficiency were observed across harvests in each soil moisture regime, which indicates the possibility of utilizing these genotypes for high biomass production under low soil moisture conditions after further validation in other environments.

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Performance of Napier Grass (Cenchrus purpureus L.) Genotypes Grown under Limited Soil Moisture

Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus Schumach L.) is an important perennial forage native to Africa and grown in many tropical and subtropical countries. It is considered as a short-term drought tolerant forage which is a useful trait in areas that are characterized by low precipitation during the dry season. To exploit the potential of this grass and identify water use efficient (WUE) genotypes, a field drought stress trial was conducted at Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Eighty-four Napier grass genotypes were planted in a p-rep design in four replications. The genotypes were evaluated for forage performance during the dry season of 2019 and 2020 based on agro-morphological traits under two soil moisture regimes- moderate water stress (MWS) and severe water stress (SWS). The results indicated the existence of significant diversity among the genotypes for agro-morphological traits and photosynthetic performance. Consistently high biomass producing genotypes with enhanced water use efficiency were observed across harvests in each soil moisture regime, which indicates the possibility of utilizing these genotypes for high biomass production under low soil moisture conditions after further validation in other environments.