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Islam MR, Garcia SC, Sarker NR, Islam MA, Clark CEF. Napier grass ( Pennisetum purpureum Schum) management strategies for dairy and meat production in the tropics and subtropics: yield and nutritive value. Front Plant Sci 2023; 14:1269976. [PMID: 38034567 PMCID: PMC10682400 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1269976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) comprises up to 80% of the cattle diet in many tropical and subtropical regions and is used primarily by smallholder farmers. Despite the grass's high yield, resulting animal productivity from this grass is low. One of the key reasons for the low animal productivity of Napier grass is its low nutritive value under current management. Taken together, previous work has shown the current yield, crude protein (CP), and metabolisable energy (ME) of Napier grass to be 26 t dry matter (DM)/ha/year, 96 g/kg DM, and 8.7 MJ/kg DM, respectively, ranging from 2 to 86 t DM/ha/year, 9 to 257 g CP/kg DM, and 5.9 to 10.8 MJ ME/kg DM, respectively, suggesting an opportunity for significant improvement on both yield and nutritive value of this grass. The DM yield and nutritive value of this grass are inversely related, indicating a trade-off between yield and quality; however, this trade-off could be minimised by increasing sowing density and harvesting frequency. Available literature shows that this simple management strategy of increasing sowing density (50 cm × 40 cm) and harvesting frequency (11-12 harvests/year) provides 71 t DM/ha with 135 g/kg DM CP and 10.8 MJ ME/kg DM. This quality of Napier grass has the potential to increase both milk and meat production substantially in the tropics and subtropics, and the farmers will likely find this simple management acceptable due to the high yield obtained through this management. However, there is a paucity of work in this field. Therefore, management strategies to improve the nutritive value of Napier grass are required to increase milk and meat production in the tropics and subtropics and in doing so improve the food security of more than half of the global population living in these regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Rafiq Islam
- Dairy Science Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia
- Livestock Production and Welfare Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia
- Sydney Institute of Agriculture, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia
| | - Sergio C. Garcia
- Dairy Science Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia
- Livestock Production and Welfare Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia
- Sydney Institute of Agriculture, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia
| | - Nathu R. Sarker
- Krishi Gobeshona Foundation, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council Complex, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Md. Ashraful Islam
- Department of Dairy Science, Faculty of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Barishal, Bangladesh
| | - Cameron E. F. Clark
- Dairy Science Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia
- Livestock Production and Welfare Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia
- Sydney Institute of Agriculture, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camden, NSW, Australia
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Abd Samat NMA, Ahmad S, Awang Y, Bakar RAH, Hakiman M. Alterations in Herbage Yield, Antioxidant Activities, Phytochemical Contents, and Bioactive Compounds of Sabah Snake Grass ( Clinacanthus Nutans L.) with Regards to Harvesting Age and Harvesting Frequency. Molecules 2020; 25:molecules25122833. [PMID: 32575450 PMCID: PMC7356259 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25122833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Revised: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Sabah snake grass or Clinacanthus nutans has drawn public interest having significant economic benefits attributable to the presence of phytochemicals and several interesting bioactive constituents that may differ according to harvesting age and harvesting frequency. The current study was aimed to evaluate the effect of harvesting age and harvesting frequency towards herbal yield, antioxidant activities, phytochemicals synthesis, and bioactive compounds of C. nutans. A factorial randomized completely block design with five replications was used to illustrate the relationship between herbal yield, DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, total phenolic and flavonoid content affected by harvesting age (week 8, 12, and 16 after transplanting), and harvesting frequency (harvest 1, 2, and 3). The bioactive compounds by HPLC were also determined to describe the interaction effect between both harvesting age and harvesting frequency. The yield, antioxidant activities, and phytochemical contents were gradually increased as the plant grew, with the highest recorded during week 16. However, the synthesis and activities of phytochemicals were reduced in subsequent harvests despite the increment of the herbal yield. All bioactive compounds were found to be influenced insignificantly and significantly by harvesting age and harvesting frequency, respectively, specifically to shaftoside, iso-orientin, and orientin. Among all constituents, shaftoside was the main compound at various harvesting ages and harvesting frequencies. These results indicated that harvesting at week 16 with 1st harvest frequency might enhance the yield while sustaining the high synthesis of polyphenols and antioxidant activities of C. nutans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nur Mardhiati Afifa Abd Samat
- Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400 UPM, Selangor, Malaysia; (N.M.A.A.S.); (Y.A.); (R.A.H.B.)
| | - Syahida Ahmad
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400 UPM, Selangor, Malaysia;
| | - Yahya Awang
- Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400 UPM, Selangor, Malaysia; (N.M.A.A.S.); (Y.A.); (R.A.H.B.)
| | - Ros Azrinawati Hana Bakar
- Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400 UPM, Selangor, Malaysia; (N.M.A.A.S.); (Y.A.); (R.A.H.B.)
| | - Mansor Hakiman
- Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400 UPM, Selangor, Malaysia; (N.M.A.A.S.); (Y.A.); (R.A.H.B.)
- Laboratory of Sustainable Resources Management, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Product, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400 UPM, Selangor, Malaysia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +03-8947-4903
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