J. Agric. Environ. Sci. Vol. 6 No. 1 (2021) ISSN: 2616-3721 (Online); 2616-3713 (Print)

Publication of College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University 32

Effect of Fertilizer Application and Variety on Yield of Napier Grass (Pennisetum

purpureum) at Melokoza and Basketo Special Districts, Southern Ethiopia

Tessema Tesfaye Atumo

*, Getinet Kebede Kalsa

and Mesfin Gambura Dula

Arba Minch Agricultural Research Center

*Corresponding author: tessema4@gmail.com

Received: November 25, 2020 Accepted: March 31, 2021

Abstract: In tropical countries, the demand for meat and milk production has been increasing at an alarming

rate, which the production, in turn, is requiring sufficient energy and protein feed supply. Four Napier grass

varieties (ILRI_16815, ILRI_16902, ILRI_16913, ILRI_15743) and four nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur (NPS)

fertilizer (0, 12.5, 25, 50 kg ha

-1

N:P:S with a rate of 19% N:37% P

:7% S) level were laid out in split-plot

design at Basketo and Melokoza districts during 2018-2019 cropping seasons to evaluate agronomic and forage

biomass yield performance. Data were collected for three consecutive harvestings each year to evaluate yield

and agronomic parameters. NPS fertilizer application had no significant variation on growth and yield of

Napier grass. In terms of plant height, ILRI_15743 is found to be a shorter variety that had a wider

circumference covering the ground, better leaf to stem ratio and a higher number of tillers per plant. The plant

height was varied for NPS fertilizer application and the higher plant was at 12.5 kg ha

-1

(72.2 cm) level.

ILRI_16815 demonstrated as the longest 84.6 cm variety among others in the test which encompass higher dry

matter yield. Dry matter yields highly correlated (P<0.001) with leaf length, leaf number per plant and green

forage yield which have less association with circumference, leaf width and leaf to stem ratio. There was better

yield recorded at Melokoza than Basketo and applying 12.5 kg ha

-1

NPS fertilizer is economical in Napier grass

production. Therefore, ILRI_16815 could be recommended with 12.5 kg ha

-1

NPS fertilizer at Melokoza,

Basketo and similar agro-ecology to have economical Napier grass yield.

Keywords: Basketo, Feed, Melokoza, Napier Grass, NPS

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

1. Introduction

The demand for meat and milk production in

Ethiopia has been increasing (Shapiro et al., 2015).

Energy and protein source feeds are the two major

requirements in dairy production to demand 250

days of milk and calf every year (Mhere et al.,

2002). The high cost and low availability of good

quality animal feed is a critical constraint to

increasing productivity of livestock in dairy farms

and feedlots, improved family and specialized

poultry, and smallholder mixed crop-livestock and

extensive livestock production systems (Shapiro et

al., 2015). To use as a mitigation option of the

prevailing livestock production mainly the feed

nutritional constraints to livestock productivity, the

use of adapted, high yielding, and drought-tolerant

improved forages of high quality are recommended

(Mengistu et al., 2016).

Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.)

is a fast-growing perennial grass native to Sub-

Saharan Africa that is widely grown across the

tropical and subtropical regions of the world

(Negawo et al., 2017). Napier grass, also known as

elephant grass, is deep-rooted tropical bunch grass

and the most popular perennial forage crop

recommended for crop-livestock farming system

(Nyambati et al., 2010). It is widely used in cut and

carries feeding systems (Farrell et al., 2002) and is

of growing importance in other agricultural

systems (Negawo et al., 2017). Napier grass

possesses a high yield per unit area; tolerate

intermittent drought and high water use efficiency

(Kabirizi et al., 2015). It has the ability to

withstand repeated cutting and will rapidly

regenerate, producing palatable leafy shoots (Lowe

et al., 2003). The preservation of Napier grass is to

ensure continuous feed supply for the animals

during a shortage of forages as well as preserving

the quality of the grasses (Zailan et al., 2018). The

yield of Napier grass mainly depends on the type of

cultivar used, the environment and management

practices employed (Negawo et al., 2017).

J. Agric. Environ. Sci. Vol. 6 No. 1 (2021) ISSN: 2616-3721 (Online); 2616-3713 (Print)

Publication of College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University 33

Production and utilization of improved forages are

getting low in the study area due to the limited

access of forage seed, shortage of production land

and less awareness of the farmers (Community

level participatory planning (CLPP) document of

AGP-II @ArbaMinch Research Center). Forage

production was taken as an option to improve feed

requirement of the study area which has been

depending on the natural pasture and crop residues.

Therefore, this study was designed mainly to

investigate the optimum level of NPS fertilizers for

Napier grass yield, to identify the response of

Napier varieties to NPS fertilizer and to estimate

the economic response of Napier grass variety to

each unit of fertilizer application at Melokoza and

Basketo areas (AGP-II sites).

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Description of the study area

The study was conducted at Zaba village (N=

6.16’59’’ E=36.36’55’’) of Basketo special district

and at Phircha village (N=6.25'12'' E=36.37'33')' of

Melokoza district southwestern Ethiopia during

2018-2019 cropping season. The annual rainfalls of

Zaba village and that of Phircha village were

1060.5 mm and 1820.48 mm, respectively. The

altitude of the study areas in the same order were

1910 and 1462 meter above sea level. The

maximum average temperature of Zaba village was

30.79 and that of Phircha village was 27.22ºC

while the minimum average temperatures were

20.03 and 16.84ºC, respectively (Figure 1).

Soil chemical-physical properties of the

experimental sites with its description for soil depth

of 0-20 cm are presented in Table 1.

Figure 1: Environmental conditions of the experimental sites

Table 1: Soil laboratory analysis result of experimental soil sampled from the top soil of 0-20 cm depth

Description

Basketo

Melokoza

Status

5.13

5.15

Strongly acidic

Total Nitrogen (TN %)

0.1364

0.14

Low

Organic carbon (OC %)

1.583

1.612

Moderate

Organic matter (OM %)

2.729

2.812

Moderate

Available phosphorus (P ppm)

13.124

13.213

Medium

Exchangeable potassium (K ppm)

153.34

154.32

Textural class

Clay loam

Sand%

Clay%

Silt%

2.2. Treatment and experimental design

Four varieties of Napier grass (ILRI_16815,

ILRI_16902, ILRI_16913, ILRI_15743) with four

levels of NPS fertilizer (0, 12.5, 25, 50 kg ha

-1

) laid

out in split-plot design with three replications in

which varieties arranged in main plots and fertilizer

rates in subplots. The forage was planted in four

rows with 75 cm spacing between rows and 50 cm

within rows. All other treatments of the

experimental plots including regular weeding, Urea

application and others were applied in an equal

manner to all plots based on the agronomic

recommendation of the International Livestock

Research Institute (ILRI) for the grass.

2.3. Data collection

Data was collected from net plot area(4.5 m

) to

compute the circumference of each hole, tiller

100

150

200

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

Temperature (ºC)

Rainfall (mm)

A. Basketo district: Zaba Village (2009-2019)

Rainfal Max. Temp Min Temp

100

150

200

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

B. Melokoza district: Phircha Village (2009-2019)

Temperature (ºC)

Rainfall (mm)

Rainfall Max. Temp Min. Temp

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Publication of College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University 34

number per plant, leaf width, leaf length, leaf to

stem ratio, leaf number per plant, plant height,

green forage yield and dry matter yield. Upon the

establishment of the forage, the data for all

parameters were collected every 60 days after the

first cutting (Zailan et al, 2018). Circumference

was measured by a tape meter at the base of the

plant. Tiller number counted for five randomly

selected plants from the plot. Leaf width and length

measured for the central leaf at centre of the leaf

for selected plants. Leaf to stem ratio was the ratio

of leaf dry matter to stem dry matter. Leaf number

also counted for randomly selected five plants to

identify better leafier plant among the experimental

units. Plant height was measured from ground to

top of the stem at forage harvesting for randomly

selected holes. Green forage yield of

a plot was weighed at the field using spring balance

and converted to hectare base for fresh yield

analysis and dry matter yield was computed by

collecting 300-gram fresh sample leaf and stem

part of the forage to be dried at 60

C for 48 hours

(Ritz et al., 2020) to constant weight and calculate

dry matter percent, then dry matter yield was

calculated by multiplying fresh matter yield by dry

matter percent.

 





 [1]

Where

DM% is dry matter percent (AOAC, 1990)







  





) [2]

Where

DMY (t/ha) is dry matter yield in ton per hectare

(AOAC, 1990).

2.4. Economical and statistical analysis

Partial budget analysis was performed to evaluate

the economic advantage of fertilization on Napier

grass production (in terms of hay) by using the

standard procedure (Upton, 1979). The partial

budget analysis involves the calculation of the

variable costs and benefits. The benefits are

calculated based on the commercial market value

of dry matter yield for all expenses recorded at the

beginning of the study. Partial budget analysis was

undertaken using fertilizer as a variable source of

costs, total variable cost (TVC), and dry matter

yield of the Napier grass as a source of income.

Total revenue (TR) calculated by multiplying the

dry matter yield in the current market price of the

forage yield. Net revenue (NR) was calculated by

deducting total variable cost (TVC) from total

revenue (TR) as follows:

NR TR TVC

[3]

The marginal rate of return was the result of the

change in net revenue divided by change total

variable cost and expressed in percentage as

indicated below.

% *100

MMR

TVC







[4]

Where:

MRR (%) = marginal rate of return,

NR

= change in net revenue

TVC

= change in total variable cost

Analysis of variances for pooled data from Zaba

and Phircha kebeles was carried out using SAS

statistical computer package version 9.2 (SAS,

2011) and significance of means variation was

compared using least significant difference (LSD)

at 95% level of confidence.

3. Results and Discussion

The three-round cuts pooled mean values for

circumference, tiller number per plant, leaf width

and leaf to stem ratio are presented in Table 2. No

interaction was observed between variety and

fertilizer application for mean values presented in

one-way table. NPS blended fertilizer application

has no significant effect on variation (p>0.05) of

circumference, tiller number per plant, leaf width

and leaf to stem ratio. ILRI_15743 was found to be

wider in ground covering with higher

circumference value whereas ILRI_16815 with

lowest circumference. This may indicate the later

variety grows vertically up than the former which

was covering the ground horizontally. Having a

wider ground cover with higher circumference,

dwarf variety like ILRI_15743 revealing a higher

tiller number per plant than taller plants (Halim et

al., 2013). There was wider (P<0.05) leaves

recorded for variety ILRI_16902 followed by

ILRI_16815 indicating that it could have a broader

leaf than the rest. Higher (P<0.05) leaf ratio to stem

was recorded for ILRI_16902 followed by

ILRI_15743. This might be due to the short

internodes of dwarf varieties that might lead the

plant to produce more leaves than stem compared

to the taller ones. The leaf to stem ratio (LSR) is

one of the criteria for evaluating the quality of the

pasture grass because the higher proportion of

J. Agric. Environ. Sci. Vol. 6 No. 1 (2021) ISSN: 2616-3721 (Online); 2616-3713 (Print)

Publication of College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University 35

leaves compared to stem indicate a better nutritive

value (Zailan et al., 2018). Thus, ILRI_16902 is

leafier than the rest in the study.

Table 2: Mean values of selected vegetative growth of

Napier grass as influenced by variety and

NPS fertilizer at Basketo and Melokoza

NPS rate

(kg/ha)

CRF

(cm)

TNPP

(cm)

LSR

144.9

82.5

1.9

1.2

12.5

156.5

84.7

2.1

1.3

150.9

92.8

1.9

1.1

151.8

95.9

2.1

LSD (0.05)

Napier Grass variety

ILRI-16815

131.5b

91.8

2.1ab

1.1b

ILRI-16902

131.8b

75.7

2.3 a

1.4a

ILRI-16913

150.3ab

89.45

1.9b

0.9b

ILRI_15743

190.6a

98.85

1.7b

1.2ab

LSD (0.05)

22.3

0.2

0.3

CV (%)

9.2

22.7

5.1

18.01

Note: CRF = circumferences, TNPP = Tiller number per

plant, LW = leaf width, LSR = leaf to stem ratio. Means

in column followed by the same letter/s are not statistical

different.

Leaf length, leaf number and stand height

presented in Table 3 shows that NPS blended

fertilizer application not influenced the leaf length

and leaf number while plant height varied.

ILRI_16815 possessed higher (P<0.05) leaf length,

leaf number per plant and plant height. Increasing

the level of NPS blended fertilizer from 0 to 12.5

kg ha

-1

increased plant height from 60.3 to 72.2 cm,

the increment of fertilizer level beyond 12.5 to 50

kg ha

-1

decreased the height. Nitrogen fertilizer

application improves plant height of Napier grass

(Zewudu et al., 2003) and the longer leaf observed

at Melokoza while a higher number of leaves at

Basketo. Plant height is an important parameter

contributing to yield in forage crops (Zewudu et

al., 2003) that taller variety gives higher

cumulative dry matter yield (Halim et al., 2013).

Table 3: Mean values of selected growth parameters

of Napier grass as influenced by NPS

fertilizer, variety and site

NPS rate

(kg/ha)

LL (cm)

LNPP

PH (cm)

70.1

9.9

60.3b

12.5

10.6

72.2a

74.6

10.5

67.4ab

72.1

10.7

69.5a

LSD (0.05)

8.5

Napier Grass variety

ILRI_16815

91.9a

11.8a

84.6a

ILRI_16902

61.5c

10.9ab

71.5b

ILRI_16913

55.4d

8.8c

64.4b

ILRI_15743

82.0b

10.1b

48.9c

LSD (0.05)

4.9

1.1

8.5

Study site

Basketo

69.0b

10.86a

65.9

Melokoza

76.4a

9.99b

68.8

LSD (0.05)

3.48

0.74

CV (%)

5.9

9.8

12.2

Note: LL = leaf length, LNPP = leaf number per plant,

PH = plant height. Means in column followed by the

same letter/s are not statistical different.

Dry matter yield of Napier grass varied among

varieties in the experiment and location while not

for NPS blended fertilizer application. The

interaction effect was not significant for either

three or two ways (variety x fertilizer x locations).

As presented in Table 4, ILRI_16815 had a higher

(P<0.05) dry matter yield followed by ILRI_15743.

Phosphorus contribution to dry matter yield was

not significant for maize forage production (Hani,

et al., 2006) report is in line with the present study

for NPS fertilization of Napier grass. Dry matter

yield variation due to varietal differences reported

before and the higher dry matter yield reported 5.8

t ha

-1

cut

-1

for four cultivars (Zailan et al., 2018);

13.5 t ha

-1

cut

-1

for twelve cultivars (Nyambati et

al., 2010); 16.5 t ha

-1

year

-1

for four varieties

(Maleko et al., 2019). Three cuttings per year mean

value dry matter yield in the present study, 12.7 t

-1

cut

-1

, was in line with 4.6-20.5 t ha

-1

year

-1

reported before in Ethiopia (Zewdu, 2005). An

increase in dry matter yield could be due to higher

plant height in the present study is concurring with

the previous result (Atumo, 2018).

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Publication of College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University 36

Table 4: Dry matter and green forage yields of Napier

grass as influenced by NPS fertilizer, variety and site

NPS fertilizer (kg/ha)

GFY (t/ha)

DMY (t/ha)

26.51

5.8

12.5

38.41

8.7

30.06

8.3

34.86

7.6

LSD (0.05)

Napier grass variety

ILRI-16815

56.02a

12.7a

ILRI-16902

18.81c

4.8c

ILRI-16913

16.83c

3.9c

ILRI_15743

40.42b

9.1b

LSD (0.05)

9.43

2.28

Site

Basketo

26.58b

6.16b

Melokoza

39.45a

9.04a

LSD (0.05)

6.67

1.61

CV%

11.5

20.9

Note: GFY = green forage yield, DMY = dry matter

yield, Means in column followed by the same letter/s are

not statistical different.

Pearson correlations of parameters presented in

Table 5 showed that dry matter yield positively

(P<0.05) correlated with leaf length and green

forage yield. Leaf width and plant height

negatively (P<0.05) correlated with circumference.

A positive correlation (P<0.05) of plant height with

leaf width and leaf number per plant with leaf

length was observed in this study. Dry matter yield

possessed a high positive correlation with leaf

length (P<0.001), leaf number per plant (P<0.05)

and green forage yield (p<0.001) in the present

study. Thus, dry matter accumulation in the crop

could be a contribution to the growth and

development of agronomic parameters which in

turn could be the result of leaf growth and

development of Napier grass. In the present study,

the varieties with longer plant height were having

higher dry matter yield than shorter ones. This

result was reported before for the association of

plant height with dry matter yield of a given crop

(Halim et al., 2013).

Partial budget analysis (Upton, 1979) presented in

Table 6 showed that the higher net revenue

recorded at 12.5 kg/ha NPS blended fertilizer level.

The marginal rate of return also showed that there

was a high rate of return at 12.5 kg/ha for each unit

of NPS blended fertilizer application at Basketo

and Melokoza.

Table 5: Pearson Correlation of parameters

CRF cm

TNPP

LW cm

LSR

LL cm

LNPP

PH cm

GFY t/ha

TNPP

0.622

LW (cm)

-0.764*

-0.63

LSR

-0.061

-0.62

0.385

LL cm

0.167

0.501

-0.161

0.086

LNPP

-0.387

-0.03

0.561

0.406

0.698*

PH cm

-0.807*

-0.27

0.764*

0.003

0.231

0.667

GFY t/ha

0.122

0.502

-0.054

0.005

0.963**

0.693*

0.355

DMY t/ha

0.092

0.499

-0.052

0.027

0.971***

0.039*

0.385

0.979***

*= P<0.05, **= P<0.01, ***= P<0.001, CRF= circumferences, TNPP= Tiller number per plant, LW= leaf

width, LSR= leaf to stem ratio, LL= leaf length, LNPP= leaf number per plant, PH= plant height, GFY= green

forage yield

J. Agric. Environ. Sci. Vol. 6 No. 1 (2021) ISSN: 2616-3721 (Online); 2616-3713 (Print)

Publication of College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University 37

Table 6: Partial budget analysis of fertilizer application to Napier grass

Descriptions

ILRI-15743

ILRI-16815

ILRI-16902

ILRI-16913

12.5

Total Fixed costs(TFC)

2590

Variable Costs

Urea (14 ETB/kg)

1400

NPS (14 ETB/kg)

175

350

700

175

350

700

175

350

700

175

350

700

Total Variable Costs

(TVC)

1575

1750

2100

1575

1750

2100

1575

1750

2100

1575

1750

2100

Dry matter yield (t/ha)

7.55

12.65

10.25

7.85

6.9

13.7

8.95

9.15

4.55

4.45

6.3

6.2

5.95

4.15

7.6

5.2

Total Revenue

(TR=3588ETB/t=50%

WB)

27089

45388.2

36777

28165.8

24757

49155.6

32112.6

32830

16325

15966.6

22604.4

22245.6

21349

14890.2

27269

18657.6

Net Revenue

27089

43813.2

35027

26065.8

24757

47580.6

30362.6

30730

16325

14391.6

20854.4

20145.6

21349

13315.2

25519

16557.6

∆NR

16723.8

-8786.2

-8961.2

22823.4

-17218

367.6

-1933.8

6462.8

-708.8

-8033.4

12204

-8961.2

∆TVC

1575

175

350

1575

175

350

1575

175

350

1575

175

350

MRR (%)

10.618

-50.2

-25.60

14.491

-98.39

1.05

-1.228

36.93

-2.025

-5.101

69.7

-25.60

MRR- Marginal Rate of Return, WB-Wheat bran

J. Agric. Environ. Sci. Vol. 6 No. 1 (2019) ISSN: 2616-3721 (Online); 2616-3713 (Print)

Journal of the College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University 38

4. Conclusion

Napier grass is more productive at Melokoza

lowlands than Basketo midlands. Though dry

matter yield variation for fertilizer application was

not significant, the higher economical yield was at

12.5 kg/ha NPS application. ILRI-16815 recorded

significantly higher dry matter yield among others

in the test. Leaf to stem ratio was higher for ILRI-

16815. Dry matter yields highly correlated

(P<0.001) with leaf length, leaf number per plant

and green forage yield which have less association

with circumference, leaf width and leaf to stem

ratio. There was better yield recorded at Melokoza

than Basketo and economically feasible return in

applying 12.5 kg ha

-1

NPS blended fertilizer in

Napier grass production. Thus, ILRI-16815 could

be recommended for better dry matter yield at

Melokoza, Basketo and similar agro-ecology and it

is economical to use 12.5 kg/ha NPS in Napier

production.

Conflict of Interest

There is no conflict of interest claimed by the

authors.

Acknowledgement

The first author highly acknowledges the

Agricultural Growth Program (AGP) for funding

the study and thanks to all staff of Arba Minch

Agricultural Research Center (AMARC) and

Basketo Special District Livestock and Fishery

Office experts especially Debritu Dagnachew

(Basketo SD Zaba village development worker) for

collaborating in field management, data collection

and analysis of this work to be here.

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