ESTABLISHMENT AND UTILIZATION OF RHODES GRASS -
(CHLORIS GAYANA)

Preamble:

Rhodes grass is a prolific stoloniferous grass that grows naturally in many parts of East, Central and Southern Africa. It is extremely adaptable and can be found growing successfully in many parts of the world with wide range of climatic conditions. It is one of the most important grasses in many parts of Australia where it was introduced from South Africa around the turn of this century.

Rhodes grass was also introduced to U.S.A in the last century and was an important feed crop in the then called Kings Ranch.

At present Rhodes grass finds its place in nearly all Pasture Improvement Programmes in the entire African continent. It shows great promise in Latin America and is being developed for many Asiatic countries and is of prime importance in some temperature climates such as Japan where it is used as an annual forage crop.

The varieties described in the following pages were all introduced from various parts of East Africa and further selection at Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) has produced some fine lines which compare favourable with any f the perhaps better known varieties available internationally.

Rhodes grass has been the most important pasture grass in Kenya. This is mainly because of ease of establishment and management which characterizes it. All Rhodes grass varieties produce large bulk of herbage, which is eminently suitable for grazing, making hay or silage. All the varieties of Rhodes grass are palatable and readily eaten by livestock, goats and camels even at the coarser stages when the quality of the feed is low.

A good establishment of pasture leys ensures consistent high milk production all the year round particularly where optimum pasture management is practiced.

Pasture fields can be established anywhere on earth as long as water is available and certified seed whose purity and germination is known (quality seeds) is initially used. "Sample this" - most people would find it hard to believe that the largest Dairy farm in the world is in Saudi Arabia. They might believe the largest oil field, largest desert, but not the largest dairy farm in the world!

It is therefore a miracle how a little water can turn this remote desert into a breadbasket and milk shed for the Middle-East.

Kenya exporters a substantial tonnage of pasture seeds to the Gulf region and the performance has been exceptionally good given the fact that most of the soils in the region are saline and with high temperatures and scarce water which characterises the entire region, one can conclude that, species sold from Kenya to the region are reliable for planned animal farming.

VARIETIES OF GRASS SEEDS FOUND IN KENYA

Kenya Seed Company is currently the sole producer of grass seeds (Chlories Gayan) in Kenya. The company has a historical base dating back to 1956 when the first grass fields for trials were initiated. To date, the company has excelled beyond all expectations in production of different but similar grass varieties suitable for countries within the tropical and subtropical ecological zones. The company has several released pasture seed varieties while several others are in the pipeline or in selection stage awaiting official release by Government Certifying Agency.

Some of the commonly used varieties in Kenya and others countries e.g. Middle East, Japan etc are:

1. BOMA RHODES: (chloris gayana)

This is a variety which was selected from an older variety called MASABA RHODES. The original material was grown in Uganda many years ago and therefore Boma is an Improved Variety with softer and excellent herbage. The variety is slow growing and therefore suited to lower stocking rate but has excellent herbage quality. The variety tends to give better bottom (tillers) and is drought tolerant.. The variety is widely spread in medium altitudes and is a popular variety in the Gulf Region.

2. ELMBA RHODES (chloris gayana)

Elmba Rhodes like its sister variety Boma Rhodes from Uganda. It is a selection from Mbarara Rhodes (Mbarara is a town in Uganda). It is stoloniferous perennial and is tolerant to a wide range of adverse climatic conditions but prefers light sandy soils. This is a quick growing variety with excellent soft herbage and has strong seeding vigour. Elmba Rhodes is also becoming increasingly popular in the Gulf region.

NB:

Mbarara and Masaba Rhodes are still in production but in a bigger scale due to their inability to produce soft and excellent herbage for higher returns but they remain significantly important for their natural tolerance to drought and other natural calamities like high temperatures and saline soils. These two varieties can still be produced successfully where Boma and Elma Rhodes cannot thrive well. They have been successfully grown in the Middle East and other parts of Africa region.

3. COLOURED GUINEA (Panicum Colorutum)

This is a tufted perennial. In the early seedling stage the variety tends to have wide curly leaves with slightly wrinkled edges. It has a good herbage quality. One of the advantages of Coloured Guinea over other grasses is the ability to withstand severe water-logging and in spite of establishment difficulties it is one of the few grasses which will persist in black cotton soils. The variety is moderately drought tolerant and will thrive in a wide range of rainfall regimes. It also remains green well into the dry weather.

4. NANDI SETERIA (Setaria Sphacelata)

This again is a tufted perennial which is one of Kenya's original Commercial Lines and still remains the most promising pasture species for the high altitude and high rainfall areas. This variety has also shown considerable promise in many other countries. Nasiwa Seteria which is an improvement from Nandi Seteria in now in production. Nandi Seteria is resistant to frost and water-logging and will thrive where Rhodes grasses would not be suitable.

5. NASIWA SETERIA (Seraria sphacelata)

This grass is an improvement of Nandi Seteria. It's a tufted perennial suitable for the high altitude and high rainfall areas.

This variety is resistant to frost and water-logging and thrives well where Rhodes grass would not be suitable.

6. CONGO SIGNAL (Brachiaria ruziziensis)

It's a short, broad leafed perennial which forms a thick mat of leaves mot more than 20-40 cm high. The thick cover supports high stockings rates. This variety does well in warm, wet climates. It requires high fertility and moisture regimes & requires high phosphate and nitrogen levels. It is a persistent variety that has the ability to compete with natural grasses. It can be utilized as lawn grass and for erosion control measure.