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Agronomic Properties, Dry Matter Production and Nutritive Quality of Guinea Grass (Megathrysus maximus) Harvested at Different Cutting Intervals

Jusoh*, S. , A.R. Alimon and M.S. Kamiri

Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor

Malaysian J. Anim. Sci. 2014 17(2): 31-36

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Response pattern of guinea grass to defoliation interval was assessed for about four months from July to October 2012 to investigate the morphological response, in terms of agronomic properties, dry matter production and nutritive value, of guinea grass (Megathrysus maximus) towards cutting interval. A newly planted guinea grass plot was divided into sub-plots and subjected to three cutting intervals, namely 3, 4 or 5-week-intervals. The experimental design was RCBD with 3 treatments (cutting intervals) with 4 replicates in each treatment and assessed for agronomic properties, DM production and nutritive quality of the harvested grass. There were significant differences (p<0.05) in DM yield where 5-week interval was the highest, crude protein was the highest at 3-week interval, and similar trends with neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and acid detergent lignin content of the grass. Guinea grass harvested at 5-week-interval appeared to have the highest DM yield with 1.32 of leaf to stem ratio.