Evaluation of Apomictic \u3cem\u3eMegathyrsus maximus\u3c/em\u3e Accessions and Ecotypes to Improve Feed Availability in Western Kenya

In Kenya, the dairy sub-sector is dominated by smallholder farmers, who keep between 1-10 dairy cows, and produce over 80% of the marketed milk in the country. The sub-sector is characterized by low milk production, long calving intervals and high calf mortality. The main constraint is the lack of year- round quality feeds hence the low lactation yield of 1,400 litres from animals capable of 3,500 - 4,000 litres. The main feed is Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus) formerly Pennisetum purpureum. However, in the last decade the productivity and reliability of Napier grass has been constrained by the emergence Napier stunting and headsmut diseases. The diseases reduce forage yields making a bad feed situation worse. In an effort to address the feed shortage and provide alternative fodder crops, the Grass2cash project embarked on the evaluation of apomitic Megathyrsus maximus accessions/ecotypes in Western Kenya with the objective of adding to the forage crop options available to smallholder dairy farmers in Western Kenya. Thirty six (36) accessions/ecotypes of M. maximus were evaluated in Western Kenya. Seed were sowed in the in a greenhouse before seedlings were transplanted in the field. The seedlings were planted in single rows and data on height and dry matter yield were collected. Based on dry matter yield (DMY), 11 accessions/ecotypes were selected and evaluated in a replicated experiment. M. maximus Cv Mombasa had the highest DMY yield but this was not significantly different from the other accessions apart from MK5 and CIAT 6954 which had much lower DMY. Accessions/ecotypes had significant different leaf to stem ratio of the accessions. The leaf: stem ratio of all accessions increased with time and the increase was significant. However, there was no interaction between leaf:stem ratio and a combination of harvest and for accession/ecotype/cultivar. Overall, accessions significantly different leaf to stem ratio. Accessions/ecotypes CIAT 6095, Mombasa, MK1 and MK6 had significantly better leaf to stem ratio than MK5, CIAT 6944 and CIAT 6798. This study showed Megathyrsus maximus accessions and local ecotypes are potential alternatives forage crop in Western Kenya