Biomass Yield, Morphological Characteristics, Nutritional Values and In vitro Digestibility of Different Napier (Pennisetum purpureum) Cultivars
Biomass Yield, Morphological Characteristics, Nutritional Values and In vitro Digestibility of Different Napier (Pennisetum purpureum) Cultivars
Anamika Roy1, Biplob Kumer Roy2, Muhammad Khairul Bashar3, Nathu Ram Sarker4, Nasrin Sultana5, Md. Mostain Billah2, Mohammad Al-Mamun1*
ABSTRACT
The study assessed eleven different Napier (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) cultivars’ on the basis of their morphological characteristics, biomass yield, nutrient composition and in vitro digestibility. These varieties are: BLRI Napier (BN)−1(Bajra), BN−2 (Arosha), BN−3 (hybrid), BN−4 (Vietnam), Pakchong, Color Napier, MarkEron, Wruk−Wona, Dwarf−Early, Dwarf−Late, and Zara. They were sourced from the BLRI fodder germplasm center, Savar Dhaka. These cultivars were planted in three blocks of eleven rows each in February 2020, with a 50 cm x 50 cm spacing between cuttings and rows. Seven harvests per year were made during the 50-day harvest interval (HI). In contrast to the summer and winter seasons, the rainy season had the best morphological characteristics of Napier grass, regardless of variety (p < 0.001). However, fresh biomass, DM, and CP production of Napier grass per hectare of land was significantly (p < 0.001) higher in summer (87.6, 11.9 and 1.22 t/ha/yr, respectively) followed by rainy (75.7, 10.4 and 1.19 t/ha/yr, respectively) and winter season (50.1, 7.25 and 1.10 t/ha/yr). Irrespective of season, Pakchong, Wruk−Wona, Zara, BN−4, Dwarf−Early, BN−1, BN−2, Colour Napier and Dwarf−Late (137-163 cm) exhibited similar plant heights, with BN−3 (133 cm) being the lowest (p < 0.01). In comparison to other cultivars, BN−3, BN−4, Color Napier, and MarkEron had the highest leaf-to-stem ratio (p < 0.001) (1.06−0.90), while Pakchong and Zara had the lowest (p < 0.01) ratio (0.52). Pakchong yielded more fresh and dry matter biomass, crude protein, and metabolisable energy (ME) (274 t/ha/yr vs 36.7 t/ha/yr vs 4.44 t/ha/yr vs 278 GJ/ha/yr) than Wruk−Wona, Zara, and BN−4 . In Color Napier and Dwarf-Early, fresh and DM biomass, CP and ME production were the lowest (172, 25.1, 3.02 t/ha/yr and 188 GJ/ha/yr vs 175, 25.2, 2.90 t/ha/yr and 184 GJ/ha/yr, respectively; p < 0.001). Likewise, when compared to other cultivars, Pakchong had the lowest oxalate level (p < 0.05) and higher digestible organic matter (dOM; p > 0.05) and metabolisable energy (ME; p < 0.05) value. Pakchong could be suggested to the farmers based on its biomass yield and nutritional quality, whereas Zara and Wruk-Wona are also promising types of Napier cultivers.
Keywords | Napier cultivars, Biomass yield, Nutrient composition, In vitro digestibility, Season
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July 2025
Adv. Anim. Vet. Sci., Vol. 13, Iss. 7,
