Studies on Biomass Yield, Morphological Characteristics and Nutritive Quality of Napier Cultivars under Two Different Geo-Topographic Conditions of Bangladesh

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of Napier cultivars in terms of forage yield, plant morphology and nutrient contents under two different agro-ecology and geo-topographic conditions. Three Napier cultivars being conserved by Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI), namely-BLRI-Napier 1, (BN-1), BLRI-Napier 3 (BN-3) and Merkeron (BN-5) were selected to cultivate in severe drought prone areas (called Barind) and non-drought area at Savar (Modhupur terrace). Stem cuttings were planted in rows apart from 70 cm and 35cm spacing between plants. Data of 6 consecutive harvests from a period of approximately one year were collected and analyzed statistically by “R” software. The results showed that cultivar and location had a significant (P < 0.001) effect on biomass yield, plant height and leaf-stem ratio (LSR), while number of tillers were significantly varied with locations. BN-3 yielded the highest biomass (33.32 t/ha/harvest) at non-drought location (42.98 t/ha/harvest). The highest plant height was obtained in BN-1 (171.2 cm) at non-drought location (174.6 cm). Number of tillers per hill ranged from 25.4 to 26.3 among cultivars (P > 0.05) and the highest tillers were found at non-drought location (28.1 no). The best LSR was estimated from BN-5 (0.86) at drought location (0.95). The proximate analysis showed that CP, ADF and NDF in whole plant were varied significantly (P < 0.001), being the highest contents in BN-1 (10.69%, 46.20% and 54.58%, respectively). On the other hand, DM and ash contents did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) among cultivars which ranged from 15.80% to 17.13% and 13.10% to 14.58%, respectively. The highest CP content in whole plant was obtained at non-drought location (11.89%), while the lowest ash (10.57%) and NDF (52.71%) contents were obtained at the same location. The highest CP contents in leaf were found at non-drought (15.03%) and the lowest ash (9.86%) at the same location. The highest CP contents (5.90%) in stem were found at non-drought location, while the lowest ash (11.28%) and NDF (54.59%) contents were obtained at the same location. Finally, the experiment reveals the superiority in biomass yield and nutritional quality (in terms of CP content) with the ranking orders of BN-3 > BN-1 > BN-5 and BN-1 > BN-3 > BN-5. Therefore, it may be concluded that BN-1, BN-3, and BN-5 cultivars were well adapted in both drought and non-drought conditions, although performance showed better in later conditions. However, in terms of forage yield and overall nutrient composition, the performance of BN-3 was the best irrespective of locations.

Comparative Study on Biomass Yield,Morphology,Silage Quality of Hybrid Napier and Pakchong and Their Utilization in Bull Calves

This work was conducted to compare the potentiality between BLRI Napier-3(BN-3)and Pakchong(PK)fodders.In a completely randomized design(CRD)layout,10 plots(5 m′5 m each)were prepared and stem cuttings were transplanted.Fodder plants were harvested at 70,80 and 90 days after plantation(DAP)followed by making silage.Ten Red Chittagong Cattle(RCC)growing bull calves were selected and equally divided into two treatment groups fed only silages for nutrient utilization and growth evaluation.The highest biomass yield(69.3 ton/ha)and plant height(104.6 cm)were observed in PK at 90 DAP.The highest leaf weight(498.6 g/plant)and leaf to stem ratio(LSR)(1.53)were observed in BN-3 at 70 DAP,which was decreased gradually in progressing maturity.Conversely,stem weight was increased with progressing maturity.Dry matter(DM)(24.71%),total ash(8.35%)and acid detergent fiber(ADF)(61.89%)in PK silage were significantly higher.On the other hand,crude protein(CP)(9.86%),organic matter(OM)(91.65%)and neutral detergent fiber(NDF)(88.06%)in PK silage did not differ with BN-3 silage.Dry matter intake(DMI)and crude protein intake(CPI)from PK silage(2.25 kg/day/animal and 0.22 kg/day/animal)were significantly higher.Digestibility of DM(55.07%),CP(62.35%),OM(57.85%),total ash(30.89%),ADF(73.02%)and NDF(78.19%)for PK silage were significantly higher.N-intake(35.57 g/d)from PK silage was significantly higher,although,N-retention did not differ significantly.There were no significant differences in weight gain of calves fed PK(117 g/d)and BN-3(68 g/d).It can be concluded that PK silage is comparatively better than BN-3 in respect to biomass yield,digestibility and nutrient utilization in growing bull calves.