Abstract

VILLANUEVA-AVALOS, José Francisco; VAZQUEZ-GONZALEZ, Abieser  and  QUERO-CARRILLO, Adrián Raymundo. Agronomic attributes and forage production in ecotypes of Cenchrus purpureus under subhumid tropical conditions. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc [online]. 2022, vol.13, n.spe27, pp.1-9.  Epub Oct 31, 2022. ISSN 2007-0934.  https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v13i27.3147.

The morphology and forage production were studied in 16 ecotypes of Cenchrus purpureus (Schumach.) Morrone, under subtropical conditions of the state of Nayarit, Mexico. The study was conducted at the El Verdineño-INIFAP Experimental Site. The materials evaluated included: Elephant, Uruguana, Taiwan, CT-169, Caña Africana, Maralfalfa, Mott, Roxo, purple King grass, CT-115, Merkeron, Cameroon, green King grass and three ecotypes from Tamaulipas: Elephant Tamps, Maralfalfa Tamps and Roxo Tamps, established in plots of 2 x 4 m2, with three furrows of six plants each, at a rate of 25 000 plants ha-1. The evaluations were conducted during the period of water deficit (January-July) of 2019 at 180 days of regrowth. Morphological variables included: plant height, stem density per crown, basal and central stem diameter, width and length of the central leaf blade, number of internodes and central internode length. For production, they included: dry matter (DM) production, absolute growth rate and leaf:stem ratio. Data were analyzed using a completely randomized design, including the 16 ecotypes, and comparison of means with Tukey (p< 0.05). In all materials, significant differences (p< 0.01) were observed between morphological and productive variables. The outstanding materials for DM production were Elephant Tamps and Caña Africana, with a production of 60.9 and 57.3 Mg DM ha-1; likewise, for absolute growth rate: 338.5 and 318.5 kg DM ha-1 day-1. These ecotypes constitute an excellent alternative for their use in the different beef and milk production systems in the tropical areas of Mexico; the above, under a cut at 180 days of regrowth in the dry season.

Keywords : Cenchrus purpureus; forage production; morphology.

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