(Rangeland Society of Tanzania (RST), 2018) Selemani I.S.; Shani G.J.
Scarcity of livestock feeds during dry season in Tanzania
raises the concern for maximizing grass production during
wet season and conserve for critical dry season feeding.
However, poor soil fertility and unpredictable rainfalls are
the major limiting factors for maximum grass production.
To achieve this, a study was conducted at Magadu dairy
farm to assess the effect of different combination levels of
fertilizers on growth and yield performance of native
stargras (Cynodon nlemfuensis). The four combination
levels of farmyard (FYM) manure and NPK were applied
randomly to different plots of stargras using the Complete
Randomized Design (CRD). The results indicated that, the
best performance in terms of tiller number, tiller length
and above-ground biomass production were obtained in
treatment received 75:25 ratio of NPK and FYM
respectively. It was noted that, the above ground biomass
yield was significantly low to those treatments received
less than 50% NPK. Therefore, anintegration of NPK and
FYM at 75:25 and 50:50 ratios which yielded 3.5 and 4 t/ha respectively, are recommended for maximum and
profitable production of C. nlemfuensis.