Productivity of Alfalfa, Rhodes Grass and Their Mixtures in Arid Conditions Under Sprinklers

Abstract

The presently existing dominant perennial forages like Rhodes grass, alfalfa and their mixtures were investigated from January 1998 to August 1999 for their productivity as a part of ICARDA’s Arabian Peninsula Research Program (APRP) at Rumais in the Batinah Coast of the Sultanate of Oman. The results indicated that the Rhodes grass varieties produced significantly (P 0.05) green matter (182.05 - 184.04 film") and dry matter (40.83 44.67 t/ha-1) yields. Among the mixtures, both green and dry matter yields of l: 2 mixture of Alfalfa and Rhodes grass were significantly higher than the other two mixture proportions i.e. 1:1 and 2:1 (P<0.05).

Keywords

• alfalfa, rhodes grass, mixtures, productivity, nutrient composition, sultanate of oman.