Authors: Taramani Yadav, D. K. Rathore, Sourabh Kumar
Hybrid Napier
Scientific Name- Pennisetum purpureum
Family- Poaceae
Origin- Napier grass is native of Rhodesia in South Africa
History
• The name napier grass is given in the honour of Col. Napier, 1909 to the fodder value of this grass
• It was introduced in India in 1912 from South Africa
Geographical Distribution
• Asia, Africa, southern Europe and America
• In India, it is cultivated on about 1 lakh ha mainly in the states of Punjab, Haryana, UP, Bihar, MP, Orissa, Gujarat & Assam
Climatic Requirement
• Napier bajra hybrid (NBH) performs well in areas having temperatures >15oC.
• It is a tropical grass, which can with stand drought for a short spell
• This grass does not survive in heavy rainfall and frost prone areas
Soil and its preparation
• It can withstand saline conditions
• A fertile loam is best suited for its optimum growth
• A good seed-bed should be firm and well leveled
• First ploughing with mould board plough, and subsequent 2 cross ploughings with cultivator
• Planking should follow every ploughing
Varieties
| Varieties | Characteristics | Green fodder yield (t/ha) |
| IGFRI-3, 6 | Suitable for central India, north-east and northern hills | 90-160 |
| IGFRI-7 | It is suitable, hilly, sub-humid and sub-temperate areas of India. | 140-170 |
| IGFRI-10 | It is suitable for whole country and acidic and saline soils | 150-180 |
| PBN-83, 16 | Suitable for Punjab | 125-170 |
| Co-3 | Central and south India | 130-200 |
Seed and Sowing time
• Propagated vegetatively
• Root slips and stem cuttings are used as propagating material
• The root slips/stem cuttings are planted at 50 cm x 50 cm (sole cropping) to 100 cm x 50 cm (in intercropping) spacing
• 40,000 and 20,000 root slips/stem cuttings/ha are required for sole and intercropping
• It can be planted from February- April
Manures and Fertilizers
• FYM application @ 30 t/ha at the time of land preparation is recommended
• A fertilizer dose of 50-60-50 kg/ha of N-P2O5-K2O is applied as basal
• After each harvest, 50 kg N/ha is applied with irrigation
Water management
• The crop requires irrigation during non-rainy season (October-March) at 15-20 days interval
• During summer (April-May/June) irrigations are given at 7-10 days interval
• The water requirement of this crop varies from 80-100 cm
Weed management
• Two or three weedings are required to control the weeds
• When broad leaf weeds pose a serious problem, application of 2,4-D @ 1 kg/ha is recommended
Pests and Diseases
• There are no major pests and diseases, except leaf blight damage caused by Helminthosporium sacqhri in some varieties
• Clean material is distributed will help prevent the spread of the disease
Harvesting
• The first cut at 65 DAS and subsequent cuttings at 45 days interval
• In a year, 8-10 cuts are possible
• While cutting the grass, it is desirable to leave a height of at least 10-15 cm from the ground level
Yield
• A good crop yields about 150-300 t green fodder/ha/year
• The CP and CF content of NBH fodder is 10 and 30% respectively
Nutritive value
Dry matter - 16.20 %
Calcium - 0.88 %
Phosphorus - 0.24 %
Oxalates (Max.) - 2.97 %
Digestibility - 58.00 %
About Author / Additional Info:
Ph.D research Scholar, Karnal, Haryana