MOTT GRASS

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Introduction:

It is an improved cultivar of Dwarf Napier Grass (Giant napier) of Elephant Grass introduced in Pakistan in 1987 from USA.

o Common name: Mott Grass

o Botanical name: Pennesetum benthium

o Origin: Introduced from the USA & Africa

General Characteristics:o Perennial foddero High palatabilityo High digestibility (70-75%)o High nutritive valueo Excellent summer fodder (kharif fodder)o Winter dormant cropo Relished by all type of livestocko provides fodder during lean periodo Stem cuttings or root stock are usedo Good for silage making due to high leaf/stemo Fair degree of resistance to temporary flooding

Morphological description:

Plants –o Tallo ErectLeaves-o High leaf to stem ratioo Leaf canopy has diameter of 1.0-1.3mo Broader & longerStem-o 6.5m in heighto Thicko Planted like sugarcaneo Culms have 3 nodes

Land preparation –o Well prepared before its cultivationo Farm yard manure, if available, should be mixed with soil at the

time of preparationo DAP should also be appliedSowing-o Sowing the seeds at proper time, rate and method increases

the yield1. Time of sowing:o Best season is Feb to Marcho Except extreme weather conditions i.e during very hot &

very cold periodo Planting time is spring (feb & march) and rainy season

(july & august)

2. Seed rate:o In case of line sowing kg per hectare is sufficient.3. Sowing method:o Sowing of mott grass can be done either by line sowing 75cm x

75cm.

Harvesting-o When 3-4 ft, harvest ito First cutting in 2 monthso Successive cuttings at 30-45 days intervalo Urea is applied after each harvesto Six cuts per annum

Mott Grass

Yield:

o Perennial forage and lasts for many yearso Each cutting may yield up-to 20 tons fodder per acreo 140-200 tons green fodder in 4-6 cuts per hectareo Yield is decreased in wet & water logged soils

Top Producing Areas:

o Punjabo NWFP Of the Pakistano AJK

o USAo Africao France Of the Worldo Kenia

Nutritional value:

o DM 35-38%o CP 8-11%o CF 32-35%o TDN 53.82%o EE 3-4%o NFE 48-50%o Ash 11.63%

REFERENCES::::::

NARC Animal Husbandry by S. Iqbal Shah Dr. Tanveer Ahmad Lecture Crop Production by Shafi Nazir www.fao.org Pakistan agriculture.com www.pakissan.com Some others....