Comparative forage production and in-vitro dry matter digestibility of three perennial forage species of Panicum grass at different clipping stages
Comparative forage production and in-vitro dry matter digestibility of three perennial forage species of Panicum grass at different clipping stages
Ashar Farooq1*, Mohammad Salim2, Muhammad Tahir Khan3, Zahid Rauf1, Ahmed Hussain2 and Muhammad Bilal Zia1
ABSTRACT
The research was conducted to find out the relative performance of three perennial forage species of Panicum grass subjected to different clipping stages at Range Research Garden, Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar. Randomized Complete Block Design with Factorial arrangement having four replications was used for layout of the experiment. Treatment combinations consisted of three species i.e. Panicum antidotale, Panicum coloratum and Panicum maximum and three clipping stages viz. Pre-boot; full flowering and Seed Ripe stage. Fresh forage yield was determined immediately after clipping. The samples were oven dried to determine dry matter yield and In-Vitro Dry Matter Digestibility. The data were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for Factorial arrangement. Significant difference between individual means was separated using Tukey's HSD test. The results of the study for comparison of species indicated that fresh forage yield (t/ha) and In-Vitro Dry Matter Digestibility (%) of Panicum maximum was higher significantly (P< 0.05) followed by Panicum antidotale and Panicum coloratum. Dry matter (%) of Panicum antidotale was higher significantly (P< 0.05) than that of Panicum maximum and Panicum coloratum. The results of the study for comparison of clipping stages revealed that the fresh yield at Full Flowering stage was higher significantly (P< 0.05) than pre-boot and Seed ripe clipping stages. Analysis of data showed that Dry Matter (%) increased significantly as grasses grew from pre-boot stage till seed ripe stage. Keeping in view the highest forage yield and IVDMD, Panicum maximum was found to be the best species to meet the forage demand and nutritional requirements of livestock. Intermediate stage between Pre-boot and Full flowering stage was found to be the best stage for harvesting to maximize forage yield and nutritive value.
Keywords: Clipping stages, Fresh yield, Dry Matter (DM), In-vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD)
Keywords: Clipping stages, Fresh yield, Dry Matter (DM), In-vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD)
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March 2020
Vol. 70, Iss. 1
