1. Fodder establishment Tumbukiza Brachiaria Napier grass Boma Rhodes
Phyllis Ndung’u, Peter Kirui and Linus Kiprotich
International Livestock Research Institute
1. Factors to consider in fodder establishment
The following factors should be put in mind when selecting forage to cultivate
Climate: altitude and rainfall
Type of soil (moisture, texture, fertility, drainage)
Diseases and pest resistance
Drought resistance
Farmers’ workshop: 5th-10th February, 2018
Nandi and Bomet Counties
Tumbukiza
2. Classes of forages
Bulk forages: provide most of the energy and make % of feed e.g. Napier, Boma Rhodes, Brachiaria grass
Supplementary forages: e.g. Lucerne, Desmodium, sweetpotato vines
3. Cultivating fodder crops
Site selection should be based on climatic requirement of the specific pasture to be established.
Ground preparation: most of pasture seeds are small hence need a fine seed bed.
Sowing and planting : grass can be sown not deeper than 1 cm, covered lightly with soil. It can also be vegetative propagation.
Management :forages should always be weed free
Harvesting: fodder should be harvested at early flowery wilted and fed to the animals.
Pictures
Source: theorganicfarmer.org
4. Nursery establishment
Brachiaria
Source: aliexpress.com
Napier grass
Boma Rhodes
Forages can be established as pure stand or as mixed sward. When harvesting you can do cut and carry or conserve as hay or silage.
Source: agrilifeextension.tamu.edu
Lucerne
Sweetpotato vines
Desmodium
ILRI thanks all donors and organizations which globally support its work through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund
Phyllis Ndung’u
Mazingira Centre, International Livestock Research Institute,
P.O. Box Nairobi, Kenya.
This project was funded by International Fund for Agricultural Development.
This document is licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence July 2018