Planting Performance of Pennisetum purpureum Schumab cv.Purple in the Southern Region of China

[Objective] The present experiment was conducted to investigate the yield,adaptability and quality characteristics of Pennisetum purpureum Schumach cv. Purple to provide reference for the certification and development of new varieties.[Method] With P. purpureum Schumab cv. Purple as experimental material, the variety comparison tests were conducted in Nanning, Lingyun, and Tiandeng in Guangxi from 2007 to 2009, and variety regional trials were conducted in Danzhou of Hainan, Fuzhou of Fujian and Zhanjiang of Guangdong from 2011 to 2013. Its comprehensive characters of plant height, hay yield, stem-leaf ratio and nutritional components were determined, and were compared with those of P. purpureum × P.americanum cv. Reyan No.4 and P. purpureum Schum cv. Guiminyin. [Result] The average height of P. purpureum Schumach cv. Purple was 706.54 cm, which was5.92% and 8.44% lower than that of P. purpureum × P. americanum cv. Reyan No.4 and P. purpureum Schum cv. Guiminyin, respectively. The average hay yield of P. purpureum Schumach cv. Purple was 32.74 t/ha in Nanning, Lingyun, and Tiandeng of Guangxi from 2007 to 2009, and 22.41 t/ha in Danzhou of Hainan, Fuzhou of Fujian and Zhanjiang of Guangdong from 2011 to 2013. Although its hay yield was lower than two control varieties, the difference was not significant（P 0.05）.The stem-leaf ratio of P. purpureum Schumach cv. Purple was 0.98：1. Moreover,the analysis on the nutritional components of dry matter showed that compared with P. purpureum × P. americanum cv. Reyan No.4 and P. purpureum Schum cv.Guiminvin, the crude fiber of P. purpureum Schumab cv. Purple was decreased by4.76% and 2.78%, respectively; the neutral detergent fiber decreased by 5.07% and2.22%, respectively; the acid detergent fiber was decreased by 2.54% and 1.99%,respectively; the crude fat was increased by 64.29% and 43.75%, respectively; the calcium content was increased by 28.00% and 33.33%, respectively; the phosphorus content was increased by 9.68% and 22.73%, respectively; the total content of amino acid was increased by 43.23% and 68.41%, respectively; the anthocyanin content of leaf was increased by 400.00% and 216.90%, respectively（P 0.05）.[Conclusion] P. purpureum Schumach cv. Purple is a new high-quality forage variety with wide adaptability, high yield, rich nutrient and good palatability, which is appropriate for comprehensive exploitation and application in the southern region of China.

Planting Performance of Several Elephant Grass Species in Northern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

This study aimed to screen suitable species of Pennisetum purpureum for planting in northern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. During 2012-2014, a comparative field trial was carried out in Lingyun County of Baise City in northern Guangxi to compare plant height, yield, stem-leaf ratio and nutrient composition am-ong Pennisetum purpureum Schumab cv. Purple, P. purpureum Schum cv. Guimin and P. purpureum Rich ＆#215; P. americana King grass cv. Reyan No.4. The results in-dicated that average annual fresh yield of P. purpureum Schumab cv. Purple reached 141.4 t/hm2, which was 2.3 t/hm^2 higher than that of P. purpureum_Rich×P. americana_King grass cv. Reyan No.4; both average annual fresh yield of these two species was lower than that of P. purpureum Schum cv. Guimin. Stem-leaf ratio of P. purpureum Schumab cv. Purple was the lowest （1.17）, which was 17.8% lower compared with P. purpureum Schum cv. Guimin, with significant differences （P〈0.05）, indicating that P. purpureum Schumab cv. Purple had more leaves. Crude protein content of P. purpureum_Schumab cv. Purple was slightly lower than that of P. purpureum Rich×P. americana_King grass cv. Reyan No.4, while P. purpureum Schumab cv. Purple was superior to P. purpureum Schum cv. Guimin and P. pur-pureum Rich ×P. americana_King grass cv. Reyan No.4 in other indicators. Specifi-cal y, P. purpureum Schumab cv. Purple contained 26.6% of dry matter, 39.1% of nitrogen-free extract and 2.9% of crude fat.