Fertilization and production of grasses of the genus pennisetum in Santo Domingo, Ecuador

Abstract

The present research contributes to the efficient nutrient management to pastures, and to the efficient use of cutting grasses in animal feed. In order to evaluate the productive performance of four genotypes of grass of genus Pennisetum (Common Elephant; King grass; Camerún; y Maralfalfa.) and the effect of N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S fertilization, an experiment was conducted on the experimental farm "El Oasis", from the Universidad Tecnológica Equinoccial. The design was used were random blocks with factorial accordance of the genotypes of grass (factor A) and fertilization (factor B) treatments. The variables that were analyzed were: total dry matter (MSt), partial factor productivity (FPP), leaf-stem relationship and age of cutting. The Common Elephant grass presented the highest production of MSt and MS of stems with 14.8 and 9.0 t ha^-1, respectively (P < 0.05). The fertilization without N presented the lowest yields (P < 0.05) of MSt. Common Elephant and King grass showed the highest and the lowest FPP, respectively (P < 0.05). There were no differences (P > 0.05) due to the omission of nutrients in the leaf:stem relationship in the dry plant. The fertilization without Mg and the complete underground fertilization, each one showed the highest reduction (P < 0.05) on production of MS stems in the 120 d sampling. It is concluded that Common Elephant was the genotype least affected by the omission of nutrients in the accumulated production of MS and FPP.