Productivity and morphology of Benggala grass Riversdale cultivar (Panicum maximum cv Riversdale) on acid soils

Abstract

Benggala grass is one of the forages everyday use by farmer livestock, it's usually cultivated at suboptimal land. Acid dry land has the potential for forage development. The study aimed to determine the tolerance of Benggala grass (Panicum maximum cv Riversdale) in acid soils. The study was conducted in the greenhouse of the Research Institute of Animal Production, using a completely randomized design, ten replication for ten months. The study used acid (pH 4.5 and Al+3 0.27 cmol kg-1 ) and non-acid soils (pH 7.1). The seeds were planted in pots (40 cm in diameter and 30 cm height). The observed variables were morphological characters, productivity and reproduction. The results showed that the stem and internode diameters, internode lengths and plant height in non-acid soil were higher (P <0.05) than in the acid soil. The fresh and dry shoot weights, number of tillers, fresh and dry shoot weights, and seed weight in acid soils were lower (P <0.05). The times of booting, flowering started and length in the acidic soil was longer (P <0.05). The study concluded that the Riversdale cultivar did not exhibit tolerance on acid soil; therefore, further research is required to improve its tolerance to acid soils.