Participatory Evaluation of \u3ci\u3eUrochloa (Brachiaria)\u3c/i\u3e Grasses in the Cool Highlands of Central Kenya

Grasslands are increasingly threatened by over exploitation, degradation and climate change that has undermined their productive capacity, leading led to inadequate quantity and quality feed. Urochloa grass, a native of eastern Africa has been widely improved and adapted as livestock forage. A farmer participatory study was conducted to evaluate productivity of eight Urochloa grasses (Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu, U. brizantha cv. Xareas, U. brizantha cv. Piata, U. brizantha cv. MG4, U. decumbens cv. Basilisk, U. humidicola cv. Humidicola, U. humidicola cv. Llanero and Urochloa hybrid Mulato II) compared to controls of Pennisetum purpureum (Napier grass cv. Kakamega 1) and Chloris gayana (Boma Rhodes) commonly grown in Kenya. Five farmers’ own criteria (ground cover, plant height, hairiness, resistance to pests and diseases, and forage quantity) was used in a Likert scale of 1- 5 (1-very poor, 2-poor, 3-fair, 4-good and 5-very good) in the assessment. Farmers participatory evaluation showed U. brizantha cv. MG4 followed by U. decumbens cv. Basilisk were ranked higher (p \u3c 0.05) on height and amount of forage compared to other Urochloa grasses, however, they were rated lower compared to Napier and Rhodes grass controls. There was a significant positive correlation between plant height, and cover (p \u3c 0.001) with dry matter yield, suggesting that height and cover had a direct linear relationship to dry mater yield. The results demonstrate that the farmers can accurately assess the performance of forages using their own criteria

Opportunities for Promoting the Adoption of Forages in Kenya

Livestock production plays an important socio-economic role in many areas across Kenya. They are kept in all the major livestock production systems including smallholder mixed crop- livestock system, crop-livestock-tree production system, and pastoral/extensive livestock production system, which occupy about 70% of land in Kenya. Livestock production is mainly constrained by inadequate feed quantity and quality. Forage forms the major source of feed for ruminant livestock as they provide high-quality forage to alleviate feed shortages. The demand for pasture and fodder production and conservation to meet livestock feed requirements, particularly during the dry seasons, has created the need to re-position the forage value chain in Kenya, with a view to addressing fodder availability, quality and affordability challenges and hence enhanced efficiency. Kenya has a long history of forage breeding, evaluation and dissemination that has identified forage species suitable for different regions. This paper presents opportunities for improving the forage value chain, which include strengthening forage research to develop appropriate technologies, information and management practices (TIMPS), developing seed systems to improve seed availability, identifying potential options for dissemination of forage technologies for increased adoption, promoting forage cultivars for crop-livestock integration, breeding productive and highly nutritive forages, and developing better agronomic and management practices to enhance forage persistence, productivity and commercialization

Establishment and Early Growth of Improved Brachiaria Cultivars in Different Agro-Ecological Zones of Kenya

Livestock feed scarcity is a salient feature in East Africa (Njarui et al., 2011) and it is a major constraint to livestock productivity particularly during the dry seasons. The recent interest in livestock development in Kenya fueled by rising demands of animal products has led to research in identifying drought tolerant, productive and persistence forages to support livestock productivity. Brachiaria grasses have shown a great potential in South America and Australia as livestock feed. It is the most widely cultivated forage in tropical America, with estimated acreage of 99 million hectares in Brazil alone (Jank et al., 2014), supporting a highly vibrant beef industry. Although the Brachiaria genus is native to East and Central Africa, its potential as livestock feed has not been exploited in the region because of limited research on its benefits. Several Brachiaria cultivars selected and improved in South America were introduced in East Africa and are being assessed for their contribution to livestock feed base in Kenya and Rwanda. This paper reports on preliminary results on establishment and early growth of eight Brachiaria cultivars under different climatic and soils in Kenya

Identification of Niches for Integration of Brachiaria Grasses in Smallholder Mixed Crop-Livestock Farming Systems in Kenya

Inadequate quantity and quality of feed is the major constraint to livestock productivity in Kenya. Low rainfall, lack of adapted forages and poor management of sown forages are major factors that affect feed resources production. In most of the farming systems, forages are relegated to the less fertile and degraded soils resulting into poor growth. As a result the growth is poor resulting in deficient in minerals content, low crude protein (CP) and energy. The situation in exacerbated by climate variability and frequent drought. On the other hand, feed resources derived from crop residues, particularly cereals are of poor quality and not sufficient to meet animal production (Njarui and Mureithi, 2006). A research programme was initiated in 2012 to explore superior feed resources and increase availability of high quality forages to increase livestock productivity in East Africa. The program focuses on evaluation of drought and marginal soil adapted improved Brachiaria cultivars from South America. The genus Brachiaria is predominantly an African grass with about 100 species. The Brachiaria grasses are the most widely grown forages in South America (Miles et al., 2004). These grasses produce high biomass, enhance soil fertility and reduce greenhouse gas emission (Peters et al., 2012), are highly nutritious and are known to increase milk (Njarui, pers. comm.) thus suitable for different farming systems of Kenya. However, before integration of these grasses into farming systems, it was imperative to identify suitable niches suitable for growing these grasses. The knowledge gained from the study will facilitate development of suitable approaches for promoting these grasses across diverse production systems of Kenya

Identification of Niches for Integration of Brachiaria Grasses in Smallholder Mixed Crop-Livestock Farming Systems in Kenya

Inadequate quantity and quality of feed is the major constraint to livestock productivity in Kenya. Low rainfall, lack of adapted forages and poor management of sown forages are major factors that affect feed resources production. In most of the farming systems, forages are relegated to the less fertile and degraded soils resulting into poor growth. As a result the growth is poor resulting in deficient in minerals content, low crude protein (CP) and energy. The situation in exacerbated by climate variability and frequent drought. On the other hand, feed resources derived from crop residues, particularly cereals are of poor quality and not sufficient to meet animal production (Njarui and Mureithi, 2006)