Desho Grass ( Pennisetum pedicellatum ) Lines Evaluation for Herbage Yield and Quality under Irrigation at Wondogenet

摘要

This experiment was undertaken at Wondogenet Agricultural Research center. The aim of theresearch was to determine the herbage yield and quality of four ecotypes of Desho grass (Pennisetumpedicellatum) to develop promising ecotypes as registered varieties for wider use among livestock producercommunities. Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications was employed. The resultrevealed that, the agronomic performance of height, vigor, dry matter ratio, dry matter yield in ton per hectareand dry matter leaf to stem ratio were not differ significantly (P>0.05) between four Desho grass ecotypes. Eventhough, the dry matter yield in ton per hectare was not differ significantly (P>0.05) between harvest, largeamount of dry matter yield in ton per hectare of 28.83±2.66 was produced during second harvest. Moreover,numerically high dry matter in ton per hectare was produced by the grass lines of Areka-DZF#590 (28.35 ±3.77)and Kulumsa-DZF#592 (26.52±3.77). Therefore, all lines of Desho grasses were well adapted and performedgood under Wondogenet condition and in similar environments elsewhere in Ethiopia.