DRY MATTER YIELD OF Brachiaria ruziziensis AS AFFECTED BY COW DUNG MANURE RATES AND STAGES OF HARVEST

Abstract

The study was conducted at Professor Lawal Abdu Saulawa Livestock Teaching and Research Farm, Federal University Dutsin-Ma to evaluate the effect of cow dung manure rates and stages of harvest on the dry matter yield of Brachiaria ruziziensis. The experiment was laid in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in a 3×3 factorial arrangements, with three manure rates (5, 10 and 15 t/ha) as the first factor, replicated thrice and stages of harvest (6, 8 and 10 WAP) as the second factor. A week before transplanting, cow dung manure was applied to each plot manually by broadcast and immediately incorporated into the soil using hoe. Seedlings of B. ruzi were uprooted from the Pasture introduction plot of the Teaching and Research Farm and transplanted to the experimental field with inter and intra-row space of 0.5m and 0.2m respectively when the rain became established. Weed was controlled during the experimental period. DMY data on B.ruzi was taken at each of the stages of harvest. Data collected were subjected to 3-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), using General Linear Model of SAS, 2005. Significant differences among the treatment means were compared using Duncan Multiple Range Test of the SAS package. The result showed that the DMY was significantly (P<0.05) affected by cow dung manure rates and stages of harvest. Forage grown with 15t/ha rate of manure application produced the highest dry matter yield (11.20t/ha) while maximum yield was obtained when harvested at 10WAP (10.49t/ha) . It was concluded that higher forage yield of Brachiaria ruziziensis is achievable when cow dung is applied at 15t/ha and harvested at 10 weeks after planting.