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Comparison of Heavily Fertilized Pangolagrass and Stargrass Pastures under Humid Tropical Conditions 1
Author(s) -
CaroCostas Rubén R.,
Abruña Fernando,
VicenteChandler José
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1973.00021962006500010043x
Subject(s) - paspalum notatum , digitaria , cynodon , agronomy , dry matter , productivity , humid subtropical climate , tropics , environmental science , forage , zoology , biology , ecology , pathology , economics , macroeconomics , medicine
There is little information on the comparative productivity of intensively managed pastures of pangolagrass ( Digitaria decumbens ) and stargrass ( Cynodon Niem fuensis ) under humid tropical conditions. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to compare the productivity of these grasses growing on a steep ultisol when fertilized with 2.2 metric tons of 14‐4‐10/ha yearly and grazed by young cattle over a 2‐year period in the humid tropics of Puerto Rico. Stargrass produced 1,514 kg/ha of beef yearly with daily gains of 0.60 kg per head, compared with 1,062 kg/ha of beef and daily gains of 0.49 kg per head for pangolagrass. Stargrass had a carrying capacity of 7.4 steers (275 kg)/ha compared to 6.5 for pangolagrass. Throughout the year, stargrass had higher dry matter and protein contents (ranging from 11.3 to 19.6%) than pangolagrass.