Forage yield and quality of buffel ‘H‐17’ and Urochloa hybrids at different regrowth ages under semi‐arid conditions

• Published in: Grassland Science
• Main Authors: Garay Martínez, Jonathan Raúl, Estrada Drouaillet, Benigno, Bautista Martínez, Yuridia, Bernal-Flores, Álvaro, Mendoza Pedroza, Sergio Iban, Martínez González, Juan Carlos, Sosa Montes, Eliseo, Joaquín Cancino, Santiago
• Other Authors: Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2020
• Subjects: DML
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/grs.12278; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/grs.12278; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/grs.12278

Abstract Urochloa hybrids produce large amounts of biomass and have drought tolerance; however, there are few reports on the forage yield and quality of these forage grasses in semi‐arid environments. We evaluated the forage yield and nutritional value of Urochloa hybrids (‘Mulato II’, ‘Cayman’ and ‘Cobra’) and Pennisetum ciliare ‘H‐17’ (control) at three regrowth ages (RA: 4, 6 and 8 weeks), at maximum (MAR) and minimum (MIR) rainfall periods in semi‐arid climate. The variables evaluated were as follows: dry matter of leaves (DMl), stems (DMs), and total (DMT), crude protein (CP), in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and detergent fibers (neutral: NDF, and acid: ADF). The hybrids showed higher DMl, CP and IVDMD with values of 423 g/m 2 , 11% and 70%, respectively. ‘H‐17’ presented higher DMs, NDF and ADF, with values of 110 g/m 2 , 69% and 35%, respectively. Urochloa hybrids showed higher forage yield and nutritional value compared to Pennisetum ciliare ‘H‐17’ and could be an alternative for semi‐arid zones.