On-farm evaluation of improved Brachiaria grasses in semi-arid eastern Kenya

摘要

The arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya cover slightly over 80% of the land and are important for livestock production, with 60% of livestock found in this region. The main constraint to livestock production in this region is inadequate quantity and quality of livestock feed due to frequent droughts and reduced rainfall attributed to climate change. Participatory on-farm evaluation trials were conducted in agro-ecological zones Upper Midlands 3 (UM3) and Lower Midlands 4 (LM4) of Machakos and Makueni Counties respectively. The objective of the study was to assess agro-ecological adaptability and acceptability of four improved Brachiaria grass cultivars; Brachiaria brizantha cvs. Xaraes, Piat?, MG4 and Brachiaria decumbens cv. Basilisk. Eight farms were selected in each area and herbage was harvested five times at two monthly intervals. In each harvest, dry matter was measured. Assessment on performance and farmers’ preference of the Brachiaria cultivars was carried out after two years using a structured questionnaire that was administered to 49 farmers (18 females and 31 males) in Machakos and 45 farmers (21 females and 24 males) in Makueni. No differences were found in the mean total dry matter yield between the grass cultivars in Machakos county. However, Brachiaria brizantha cvs MG4 gave the highest dry matter yield of 10.4 t ha-1. There were differences  in the mean total dry matter yield between the cultivars in Makueni county where Brachiaria brizantha cv. Piat? gave the highest dry matter yield of 8.4 t ha-1. The most preferred cultivar in agro-ecological zone UM3 was Brachiaria brizantha cv. Xaraes while Brachiaria brizantha cv. Piat? was the most preferred cultivar in agro-ecological zone LM4. Although Cv. Xaraes was not the most productive in agro-ecological zone UM3, it was preferred due to increase in milk production when fed to dairy cattle. Cv. Piat? was preferred due to its fast regrowth after harvesting.