Propagating Fodder Grasses – Fodder (Senior 3 Agriculture) | Ganzaa

Fodder

Lessons

Senior 3 · Agriculture

Fodder

3 lessons

Lesson 2 of 3

Propagating Fodder Grasses

22 min

Let's begin

Rhodes grass makes thousands of seeds as light as dust; Napier grass hardly bothers, and Guatemala grass almost never sets good seed at all. So a farmer cannot plant every fodder grass the same way. For some she buys a small bag of seed; for others she needs a lorry-load of canes or a sack of rooted clumps from a neighbour's field. This lesson explains both routes and when to use each.

Definition

Cane cutting: a length of mature stem with two or three nodes, planted so that roots and shoots grow from its nodes. Example: Napier canes.

Root split (crown split): a piece of a grass clump with two or three tillers and some roots, pulled or cut from an established stool.

Stolon (runner): a creeping stem that grows along the ground and roots at its nodes, as in para grass and Kikuyu grass.

Stool: one clump of a tufted grass, with many tillers from one base.

Inoculation: coating legume seed with the right Rhizobium bacteria so that root nodules form and fix nitrogen.

1. Propagation by seed

Seed is used for Rhodes grass, Setaria, many Brachiaria and Panicum varieties, the fodder legumes (Desmodium, lucerne, Stylosanthes), and the cereal fodders (maize, sorghum, oats and millet).

Prepare a fine, firm, weed-free seedbed: grass seed is tiny and has little stored food, so it must touch moist soil and must not be buried deep.
Sow at the start of the rains. Mix the seed with dry sand so that it spreads evenly.
Drill in shallow rows (about 30 to 50 cm apart) or broadcast evenly, then cover lightly, no more than about 1 cm, or simply firm the soil by rolling or treading.
For legumes, soak hard seed briefly in hot water (scarifying) to help it absorb water, and inoculate it with Rhizobium.
Weed early: tiny grass seedlings grow slowly at first and are easily smothered.

2. Vegetative propagation

Planting material	How it is prepared and planted	Used for
Cane (stem) cuttings	cut healthy canes 3 to 4 months old into pieces with 2 or 3 nodes; plant at about 45° with two nodes in the soil (Figure 7a), or lay them flat in a furrow and cover	Napier grass, Guatemala grass
Root (crown) splits	dig up a vigorous stool, divide it into splits of 2 or 3 tillers with roots, cut the shoots back to about 15 cm, and plant upright at the depth they grew (Figure 7b)	Napier, Guatemala grass, Setaria, Brachiaria, Panicum
Runner (stolon) cuttings	pieces 30 to 50 cm long with 3 or 4 nodes, pressed into moist soil with some nodes covered	para grass, Kikuyu grass, star grass

Figure 7. (a) Planting a Napier cane cutting. (b) Planting a root split.

Spacing and layout. Napier is commonly planted at 1 m between rows and 0.5 m within the row, and on contour strips and terrace risers where it also stops erosion. On a small farm, the pit method (called tumbukiza in Kenya) packs more grass into less land: pits about 60 cm wide and 60 cm deep are filled with topsoil mixed with manure and planted with several cuttings or splits, so each pit holds water and nutrients for many cuts.

Why plant vegetatively? Splits and canes establish quickly and are true to type, and they are the only way to multiply grasses that set little or no good seed, such as Napier and Guatemala grass. Drawbacks: the material is bulky and heavy to carry, dries out quickly, and carries diseases: Napier stunt and Napier head smut spread with planting material taken from sick stools.

Greenleaf desmodium (<em>Desmodium intortum</em>) in flower near Mbinga, Tanzania. This fodder legume is sown from seed and is used in push-pull fields between rows of maize. Photo: Dick Culbert, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons

Worked example 1: how many canes?

Problem. A farmer will plant 0.25 ha of Napier at 1 m by 0.5 m, one three-node cutting per hole. Each mature cane gives 4 three-node cuttings. How many cuttings and how many canes does she need?

Solution.

Area $= 0.25 \times 10\,000 = 2\,500\,\mathrm{m^2}$ ; area per hole $= 1 \times 0.5 = 0.5\,\mathrm{m^2}$ .
Holes (cuttings) $= \frac{2\,500}{0.5} = 5\,000$ .
Canes $= \frac{5\,000}{4} = 1\,250$ .

Answer: 5,000 cuttings from about 1,250 canes, plus a few extra for gap filling.

Worked example 2: allowing for failures

Problem. Last season 340 of the 400 Brachiaria splits a farmer planted established. This season he wants 1,200 established plants. How many splits should he plant?

Solution.

Establishment rate $= \frac{340}{400} = 0.85 = 85\%$ .
Splits needed $= \frac{1\,200}{0.85} \approx 1\,411.8$ , so round up to 1,412.

Answer: about 1,412 splits. Always round up, because you cannot plant part of a split and you want at least the target.

Warning

Common mistakes. (1) Burying grass seed deep: it runs out of food before it reaches the light. (2) Planting canes upside down: buds point upwards, so mark the top end. (3) Leaving cut canes and splits in the sun for days: they dry out and fail; plant them within a day or two. (4) Taking planting material from stunted, yellow stools: they may carry Napier stunt. Handle machetes with care, cutting away from your body.

Tip

Memory hook: "Small seed, shallow bed; big grass, canes and splits instead."

Discover Agriculture: "Napier Grass Farming for Beginners: Step-by-Step Guide". Compare the planting material and spacing shown with Figure 7 and the table above.

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Practice

Name two fodder crops usually propagated by seed and two usually propagated vegetatively.
Describe how Napier cane cuttings are prepared and planted.
What is a root split? Describe how one is prepared.
Why is grass seed mixed with sand before sowing, and why is it covered only lightly?
Why are legume seeds inoculated before sowing?
A plot 30 m by 20 m is planted with Napier at 1 m by 0.5 m, one cutting per hole. How many cuttings are needed?
Explain why Guatemala grass and Napier grass are normally propagated vegetatively.
A farmer with only 0.05 ha wants as much Napier as possible. Evaluate the pit method for him.

Show answersHide answers

Seed: Rhodes grass, Setaria, Brachiaria, Desmodium, lucerne, fodder maize, sorghum, oats (any two). Vegetative: Napier, Guatemala grass, para grass, Kikuyu grass (any two).
Cut healthy canes 3 to 4 months old into pieces with two or three nodes; plant them at about 45°, right way up, with two nodes in the soil and one above (or lay them flat in a furrow), at about 1 m by 0.5 m, at the start of the rains.
A piece of a grass clump with two or three tillers and roots. Dig up a vigorous stool, divide it, cut the shoots back to about 15 cm and keep roots on every split; plant at the depth it grew.
The seed is tiny, so sand spreads it evenly. It has little stored food, so if buried deep the seedling dies before reaching the light.
So that the right Rhizobium bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix nitrogen, raising protein and soil fertility.
Area $= 30 \times 20 = 600\,\mathrm{m^2}$ ; cuttings $= \frac{600}{0.5} = 1\,200$ .
They set little or no viable seed, so they can only be multiplied from canes or splits; vegetative material also establishes quickly and is true to type.
A good choice: pits filled with topsoil and manure hold water and nutrients, so each pit yields heavily for many cuts and he gets more fodder from little land. Drawbacks: digging and filling pits takes much labour and a lot of manure at the start, so he should build them over time and keep adding manure after every cut.

Key points

Seed: Rhodes grass, Setaria, Brachiaria, Panicum, legumes and cereal fodders; fine, firm seedbed, seed mixed with sand, covered about 1 cm or less; legumes scarified and inoculated.
Vegetative: Napier and Guatemala grass by cane cuttings (2 or 3 nodes, about 45°, two nodes buried) or root splits; para grass and Kikuyu by runners.
Use clean planting material from healthy stools; the pit method raises yield on small plots.

Sources and credits

Photo Chloris gayana (Poaceae), Mexico, by Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo Desmodium intortum, by Dick Culbert, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Video: Napier Grass Farming for Beginners: Step-by-Step Guide, Discover Agriculture, embedded from YouTube.

Written by Ganzaa: the text, the table, Figure 7 and the worked examples. Spacings and rates are typical values; follow RAB or your extension officer's advice.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

11. Propagation by seed

22. Vegetative propagation

1. Propagation by seed

2. Vegetative propagation