Viability status of Cenchrus ciliaris seeds in the three farms of the sub-humid eastern agro-ecological zone of Tanzania

摘要

Lowlevelofsomesoilnutrientsfromsoilsandolderageofswards,seemtobefactorsamongotherfactorsthatcontributetolowpastureseedviabilityinTanzaniansub-humidfarms.AlaboratorystudywasconductedtoassessviabilitystatusofCenchrusciliarisseedsandsoilfertilitystatusfromthreefarmsnamelyMazimbuinMorogoro,vikugeinkibahaandTanga,CenchrusciliarispasturespeciesisamongthemostdemandedgrassspeciesbylivestockkeepersinTanzaniaduetoitstolerancetodroughtconditions.Spikeletgerminationratewas8.33%forMazimbu,0.25%forVikugeand1.83%forTangafarms.TotalsoilNitrogenwasobservedtobeatverylowlevelsi.e0.08%,0.13%and0.12%forVikuge,TangaandMazimbufarmsrespectively.nbsp;Fromthisstudyitcouldbeconcludedthatoldageofswardproducedlowqualityseedsintermsofviability,andthiscouldbefurtherexacerbatedbylowsoilfertility.Furtherstudiesonfertilizerrates,irrigationduringdryseason,rowsspacingandseedhealthchallengesarerequiredtobringmoreunderstandingongrassseedproductioninthesimilaragro-ecologicalzone.