Effects of Cutting Date on Yield, Morphological and Quality Traits of Three Grass Species under Irrigation Conditions in North Mecha District, Ethiopia

This study aimed to study the effects of cutting interval on yield, morphological and quality traits of three grass species under irrigated conditions in North Mecha district, Ethiopia. There were three kinds of grasses namely Para (Brachiaria mutica Stapf.), Napier (Pennisetum purpureum), and Desho (Pennisetum pedicellatum) at three cutting dates (60, 90, 120 day). The experimental design was a completely randomized block design with three replications and a total of nine plots. The grasses were first harvested after 60 days of regrowth; second and third harvests were done after consecutive 30 days of re-growth. Data were collected for plant height, tiller number, leaves number per plant and Leaf to Stem Ratio (LSR), Dry Matter (DM) yield and quality traits such as ash content, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL). All harvested data were laid open to GLM ANOVA procedures of SAS version 9.0. Result showed that harvesting age significantly affected all the traits except LSR in three grasses. DM yield, plant height, tiller number and the number of leaves per plant ADF, NDF ADL were increased with increasing harvesting age whereas ash content and CP decreased. It was concluded that Napier grass produces a higher forage yield among the three grasses and longer harvesting date results in increased forage DM yield and decreases the CP content in all the studied grasses. At 120 days cutting Napier grass recorded the highest DM yield (16 t/ha). Further research is needed to be conducted over much longer periods to determine to what extent these findings are related to performance over the life of a permanent pasture.