Effects of temperature and nitrogen nutrition factors on the growth of tropical fodder plants. I. Seasonal variation of the growth of a tropical grass: Brachiaria mutica in Senegal

Abstract

Growth of Brachiaria mutica with irrigation and nitrogen fertilization was studied in a sahelo-subcanarian climate. Growth curves was established during the cool dry season (November-March), the warm dry season (March-mid July) and during the rainy season (mid July-October). All results showed that Brachiaria mutica had a low productivity during the cool dry season, mainly because of too low temperatures. The dry matter yield was higher during the rainy season. It seemed that in addition to the influence of low temperature on growth curves, the effect of nitrogen fertilization was large during the cool dry season. This study shows the interest of using temperate grasses during the cool dry season.