Elephant Grass Seed | Pennisetum purpureum | and 40 similar items

Elephant Grass Seed - 250 gram/Pennisetum purpureum/Napier grass seed/Multicut Grass Seed/for Goat,Cow,Livestock and Cattle About this item 1.Green fodder for feeding, pasture and silage. 2.Rapid growth multicut fodder. 3.High protein content and perennial variety. 4.Best for control of soil erosion. Product Description Elephant Grass Seed: Description: Elephant grass is a major tropical grass. It is one of the highest yielding tropical grasses. It is a very versatile species that can be grown under a wide range of conditions and systems: dry or wet conditions, smallholder or larger scale agriculture. It is a valuable forage and very popular throughout the tropics, notably in cut-and-carry systems.Elephant grass is a robust,tufted perennial grass. It has a big root system, developing from the nodes of its creeping stolons. The culms are coarse, perennial, and may be up to 4-7 m in height, branched above. Elephant grass forms dense thick clumps, up to 1 m across. The leaves are flat, linear, hairy at the base, up to 100-120 cm long and 1-5 cm wide, with a bluish-green colour. The leaf margin is finely toothed and the leaf blade has a prominent midrib. The inflorescence is a stiff terminal bristly spike, up to 15-20 cm in length, yellow-brown to purplish in colour. Spikelets are arranged around a hairy axis, and fall at maturity. Spikelets are 4-6 mm long and surrounded by 2 cm long plumose bristles. There is little or no seed formation. When seeds are present they are very small (3 million seeds/kg) (Elephant grass is very similar in appearance to sugarcane.but its leaves are narrower and its stems are taller. Beneficial Effects of Elephant Grass Seed: Pasture: When used for pasture, elephant grass should be heavily grazed so that most of the young leaves and shoots, which have the highest nutritive value, are available to ruminants. Grazing at 6-9-week intervals at a height of about 90 cm gives good utilization. Nitrogen can be applied after each grazing or cutting in high-rainfall areas. Any coarse, leafless stems should be mowed. Fresh grass: The ideal harvest regime depends on the cultivar, weather conditions, soil fertility, management practices and livestock needs. the recommendation is to harvest elephant grass for the first time when it attains a height of 1-1.2 m, usually 3-4 months after planting. Thereafter the grass should be harvested at intervals of 6 to 8 weeks, at the same height. Well-managed elephant grass can be harvested every month in hot and wet environments, or every 2 months in drier areas. Harvesting at longer intervals produces higher DM yields but lower quality forage as protein and ash content, digestibility and leaf-to-stem ratios decline. Leaving 10-15 cm high stubble provides sufficient carbohydrate reserves for subsequent regrowth. Establishment and yields: Elephant grass produces very few seeds and is mostly propagated vegetatively through stem cuttings consisting of at least 3 nodes, 2 of which are buried in rows. Row width ranges from 50 to 200 cm and distance within rows is between 50 and 100 cm. After planting, elephant grass grows vigorously and can reach 4 m in 3 months. Elephant grass is fast growing and has a high annual productivity that depends on the climatic conditions, especially temperature and rainfall. Elephant grass requires high levels of fertilizer and a regular water supply .Yields range from 20 to 80 t DM/ha/year under high fertilizer inputs .With no, or inadequate, fertilizer, yields are in the range of 2-10 t DM/ha/year. Cuttings can be made at 45-90 day intervals, depending on location. Hay and dry grass: When elephant grass is intended for hay it should be cut at an early stage of maturity as the stems become too coarse when the plant ages. In Taiwan, elephant grass is used for the production of dehydrated grass pellets used as a supplementary stock. Weed and soil erosion control: Elephant grass develops a vigourous root system that may help to prevent river bank erosion. Planted as hedgerows, elephant grass makes fences and provides effective windbreaks for crops and houses. It is used for erosion control and forage production in alley-cropping systems of agroforestry. Elephant Grass Seed: Benefits: Elephant grass is a native of Africa introduced to Australia as forage for livestock. Elephant grass is also used as an ornamental and structural landscaping plant. It has been widely planted as a windbreak and is still recommended as a highly productive tropical forage grass.