Abstract

The experiment was conducted at Sirinka Agricultural Research Center, Kobo sub center trial site, under irrigation to evaluate the rate of farm yard manure and Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) cultivars on the growth, dry matter yield and chemical composition of Pennisetum purpureum acc no. ILRI 14984. The experimental plots were irrigated with water. The experiment was a 4 × 3 factorial arrangement in RCBD design with three replication and combination of four different farmyard manure rates (0 t/ha, 8 t/ha, 10 t/h, 12 t/ha) and three different Medicago sativa cultivars combination (pure(sole) Napier, Hunter river, Hairy Peruvian). Napier grass was evaluated for biomass yield (dry matter yield). No significance difference was observed between dry matter yields ofgrass fertilized with 8 t/ha and unfertilized (P>0.05). But, grass fertilized with 12 t/ha had significant difference between control (T1 and with the rest of the rates (p<0.05). Non significance difference (P>0.05) was recorded in dry matter yield between grass intercropped with Hunter river (21.74 t/h) and sole Napier (20.29 t/ha) in dry matter yield.

Keywords: Dry matter yield; Farmyard manure; Hairy Peruvian; Hunter river