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View crop Data sheet EcoPortAndropogon gayanus
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| DESCRIPTION: An adaptable, persistent, bluish grass growing in large tufts up to 2 m high with a reed like habit. The root system may reach as deep as 80 cm. USES: Sown as permanent pasture it can be stocked heavily during the wet season (4-5 beasts/ha). Also cut for fresh feed and fodder. Used for reclaiming overgrazed and run-down areas, as a wind break and for erosion control. The thick stems are used for thatch in Africa. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. COMMON NAMES: Gamba grass. FURTHER INF: It is native of tropical Africa between latitudes 15°N-25°S and occurs naturally in xerophytic grasslands on doleritic, sandy or clayey soils. It can be found from sea level up to 2000 m in elevation, best grown below 1000 m. It has been introduced into Brazil, India and Australia. It should be burned every year during the dry season. Can grow in environments with 400-3000 mm rainfall, and withstand a dry season of up to 9 months, but prefers more than 750 mm rainfall with 3-7 months dry season. Its root system provides excellent drought tolerance. Adapted to sands to clays with pH 4-7.5, infertile to fertile - but grows best on loams of moderate fertility. Good tolerance of high Al, but not salinity. It can tolerate some waterlogging. It has a critical photoperiod for flowering of 12-14 hours. Flowering increases as day length shortened from 12 to eight hours. Dry matter yields are normally between 1-18 t/ha. | Sources |
| Grassland Index Skerman P 1990 pp 185-190 [TEMP, KTMP, RAIN, DRA, DEP, FER, TEXT, PHO, LIG] Rehm S 1991 pp 404 [TEXT, PH, USE, DRA] Duke J 1975 pp 6 [PH, RAIN, TEMP] Roecklein J 1987 pp 157 [USE, TEXT] Bogdan A 1977 pp 34-39 [KTMP, RAIN, DRA, TEXT] Pratt D 1977 pp 241 Mannetje L 1992 pp 44-46 [RAIN, DEP, DRA, TEXT, FER] IBPGR 1984 pp 112 Tropical forages 2005 |