Abstract:
The objective of the current study was to determine the best forage cultivar of the two Hybrid Napier
(Pakchong-1 and CO-3) cultivars that well-suited to the prevailing agro-climatic conditions of the
Boralanda Farm, Welimada, Sri Lanka based on the growth performance, yield parameters and
nutritional composition. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design (RCBD)
having 6 blocks, 2 treatment plots in each block and 10 replicates in each plot. After filed
preparation, blocks were arranged according to the slope of the land. A soil analysis was conducted to
determine the soil quality gradient across the blocks and basal fertilizer application was conducted
after the land preparation. Two node cuttings of two cultivars were planted following standard
recommendations. All the other agronomic practices following planting were kept constant across
treatments. The number of leaves per plant, plant height and stem diameter were recorded weekly as
growth parameters and plants were harvested 45 days after planting to record the fresh matter yield,
plan height and leaves per plant. Further, the proximate composition of two forage cultivars was
analyzed. The results revealed that the cultivar Pakchong-1showed the highest growth performance
having a higher number of leaves (53 Vs. 44), higher plant height (105 cm Vs. 90 cm) and larger
stem diameter (21 cm Vs. 18 cm) compared to CO-3 (p<0.05) at 45 days after planting. As a result of
the higher number of leaves and plant height, Pakchong-1 showed significantly higher fresh matter
yield (2.742 kg/m2) than CO-3. Although dry matter, crude fiber and ash contents were not different
among the two cultivars, Pakchong-1 contained higher contents of crude fat (28.6% vs. 15.7% DM
basis) and crude protein (20.5% Vs. 16.4% DM basis) (p<0.05). In conclusion, Pakchong-1 could be
considered as the most suitable forage type among two cultivars in terms of growth characteristics,
forage yield and nutritional composition to be used for ruminant feeding at Boralanda Farm.
Keywords: Pakchong-1; CO-3; Fodder; Dairy
