Guinea grass ideally used as cattle fodder

Farming

THE 400-HA Ilimo farm, included 175 ha designated for growing Guinea grass and maize feed crops for the 515 milk cows on the farm.
The first milk and other dairy products are expected to be out on the shelves of supermarkets by January 2018.
Guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus)is a major pantropical grass used throughout the tropics for pasture, cut-and-carry, silage and hay.
It is a fast growing and leafy grass, palatable to livestock with a good nutritional value.
However, it is generally recommended to supplement it with sources of protein in order to meet nutritional requirements or improve animal performance.
Morphology
Guinea grass is a large tufted, fast-growing perennial grass. It has a broad morphological and agronomic variability, ranging in height from 0.5 to 3.5 m, with stems of 5 mm to 10 mm diameter. There are two main types: a tall/medium tussock type, and a short tussock type.
The root is a short creeping rhizome; culms are erect, hirsute at the nodes. Leaves are blade-shaped, glabrous to pubescent up to 35 mm broad.
Utilisation
Guinea grass is suitable for pasture, cut-and-carry, silage and hay. Many Guinea grass cultivars have been developed for different purposes and agronomic situations.
Guinea grass is well suited for cut-and-carry systems and can be used for making silage and hay. Guinea grass can be managed as a long-term pasture grass if grazed consistently, but it should not be grazed under 35 cm height, nor under very wet conditions.
As the grass rest-period affects animal performance, a good rest-period is to wait for regrowth of 2.5 leaves/tiller.
For silage and hay, a good cutting height is 60-90 cm, but for higher yields of acceptable quality it can be cut at up to 1.5 m, as it does not become coarse even if left to grow to that height. Ensiled Guinea grass has a good texture and it was possible to mix grass of different ages with no effect on silage quality.
Ruminants
Guinea grass is a valuable fodder for pasture, hay and silage. Guinea grass is well eaten by all classes of grazing livestock, with high intakes of young leafy plants.
Several experiments have shown that supplementing cows or dairy heifers fed on Guinea grass improves animal performance.
Supplementation with a concentrate or a concentrate and a legume gave greater milk yields in cows. – feedipedia.org