Performance of hybrid Napier cultivars CO-5 (Pennisetum glaucum × P. purpureum schumach) and Sampoorna (Pennisetum pedicillatum × P. americanum) harvested at five intervals during Yala season of the year

Abstract

Low quality tropical forages are one of the main constraints for ruminant feeding in Sri Lanka leading to low animal productivity. As a solution to this, two hybrid Napier cultivars; CO-5 and Sampoorna were recently introduced and have been described as superior yielding to previous cultivars of CO-3 (Pennisetum perpureum × P. typhodium) and CO-4 (Pennisetum glaucum × P. purpureum). The objective of this study were to evaluate the yield and nutrient composition of the CO-5 and Sampoorna Napier cultivars grown under rain fed conditions during the Yala season (May to September).