Characterization of ecotypes of cenchrus ciliaris (african foxtail) from selected areas in Tanzania
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Date
2023-11
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro.
Abstract
Ruminant animals in developing countries, such as Tanzania, heavily rely on natural pastures found in communal grazing lands. Unfortunately, these lands are facing rapid deterioration in various aspects. The pastures in these areas are generally of poor quality and insufficient in quantity, leading to challenges in sustaining animal production. Additionally, these grazing lands often experience extended dry periods, further exacerbating the problem of inadequate forage and negatively impacting ruminant nutrition and productivity. To address these issues, it is crucial to enhance these grazing lands to make them productive year-round, even during challenging seasons. However, these lands are often overgrazed, face high environmental temperatures, and suffer from poor soil quality, all of which hinder pasture growth. Therefore, conducting assessments of these pastures is essential to determine their potential to thrive under such environmental conditions. Furthermore, it is crucial to identify, select, and breed suitable pasture species for these areas.
This study focused on characterizing Cenchrus ciliaris, also known as African foxtail, in selected regions of Tanzania. African foxtail has shown tolerance and better yield potential as a pasture crop in challenging environments, making it a promising candidate for improving communal grazing lands in Tanzania. The research employed an integrative approach, including literature review, field surveys, and experimentation, to achieve four specific objectives: Objective 1: Literature Review
The first objective involved conducting a systematic review of existing literature. The review gathered data on plant characterization, forage production, and environmental stresses from published and unpublished reports, journal articles, conference papers, government reports, book chapters, and theses published between 2002 and 2020. A total of 97 publications were considered, with 51 articles deemed relevant for the study.
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Objective 2: Habitat and Morphological Assessment
For the second objective, a cross-sectional study was conducted in three Tanzanian districts: Kilolo, Kiteto, and Mpwapwa. Two villages were selected from each district, and potential sites within these villages were identified. Ecotypes of African foxtail were identified and named based on names provided by local residents. The ecotypes were Iramata malolo (Ir) and Iramata mtandika (Im) from Kilolo District, Ologoraing’ok namelock (On) and Ologoraing’ok twanga (Ot) from Kiteto District, as well as Nzingangata (Nz) and Orupilipili (Op) from Mpwapwa District. Various morphological characteristics, including plant height, tiller number per tussock, leaf number, leaf length, and inflorescence length, were assessed in ten randomly selected tussocks from each plot. Habitat characterization included data collection on landscape, climate, soil, and associated plant species. Soil samples were also collected for laboratory analysis.
Objective 3: Growth and Productivity Assessment. To achieve the third objective, an experiment was conducted at Magadu Dairy Farm using a completely randomized design. This experiment aimed to assess the growth and productivity of African foxtail ecotypes under common, stress-free environmental conditions. Five of the six ecotypes assessed in the second objective were included in this experiment. Sprigs of these ecotypes were planted in plots, and standard management procedures were applied. Forage growth, dry matter yield, and nutritional characteristics were assessed. Objective 4: Response to Defoliation
The fourth objective involved an experiment in which the response of selected ecotypes to defoliation was assessed. Defoliation stress was measured through harvesting intervals of 21 days, 28 days, and 35 days. Five ecotypes from the third objective were used in this experiment, and various growth and nutritional parameters were measured to evaluate their response to defoliation.
Key Findings
Plant characterization is crucial for sustainable forage production in challenging environments. Different approaches, including agronomical, morphological, histological, biochemical, physiological,
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and molecular methods, can be used for this purpose. In Tanzania, agronomical and morphological approaches are commonly employed due to resources and technological constraints.
There is significant habitat and morphological variation among African foxtail ecotypes in their natural environments. This variation is permanent and persists when these ecotypes are grown under common environmental conditions. The assessed African foxtail ecotypes exhibit differences in several characteristics, including plant height, leaf area, tiller number, yield, and nutritional attributes. These differences make some ecotypes more suitable for specific purposes.
Harvesting interval significantly affects forage growth, yield, and nutritional quality of the ecotypes. Ecotype Olupilipili "Op" outperformed other ecotypes based on growth and yield characteristics, and ecotype Ologoraing’ok namelock "On" was the best on nutritional characteristics. Optimal productivity is achieved with a 28-day harvesting interval.
Conclusions and Recommendations
In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of characterizing forage species for sustainable livestock production in challenging environments. African foxtail ecotypes in Tanzania exhibit morphological variations and respond differently to environmental conditions and defoliation. Selecting suitable ecotypes and optimizing management practices can enhance the productivity of communal grazing lands, ultimately benefiting the livestock sector in the country. More research and the adoption of advanced characterization techniques are encouraged to improve forage production in Tanzania.
Based on their growth, yield and nutritional characteristics as reviled in this study "Op" and "On" ecotypes can be selected by farmers and for breeding programs. Harvesting interval of 28-day may be adopted for optimum productivity.
Additional studies on cost-benefit analyses for ecotype production under different management plans, as well as assessments of ecotypes under drought and salinity stresses, which are prevalent in the region are suggested. Molecular characterization of the studied
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ecotypes is also recommended as an advanced approach to plant characterization. This can help identify and utilize adaptive traits for stressful environments.
Description
dissertation
Keywords
Characterization, ecotypes, cenchrus ciliaris, (african foxtail), selected areas, Tanzania