COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

የግብርናና አካባቢ ሳይንስ ኮሌጅ

Department of Animal Science (2nd year, November 2022)
 የእንስሳት ሳይንስ ት/ክፍል
Course: Forage and Pasture Production and Management

By: Awoke K.
Chapter one: Introduction
1.1. General description of forage crops and their importance
Forage production is the cultivation of plants to feed animals.
Forage is defined as ‘edible parts of plants, other than separated grain, that can provide feed
for grazing animals or that can be harvested for feeding’.
‘Forage crop’ is often used to describe crops, generally annual or biennial, which are grown
to be utilized by grazing or harvesting as a whole crop (e.g. maize, sorghum)
Forages are grasses and legumes that can be used for feeding animals and for better
management of the environment.
There are many species of grasses and legumes and each of these species can have one or
more varieties.
Grasses
Grasses produce more biomass than legumes and are the main feed for ruminant livestock
(400 – 2,000 kg of fresh, green feed/100 m2/year
Legumes
have much higher levels of protein in their leaves than grasses
Provide essential minerals and vitamins for animal growth.
Return nitrogen to the soil through fallen leaf, old nodules and through manure and urine of
grazing animals.

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Importance of forage crops
Source of feed and food for animals and Reduce weed populations
humans respectively Reduce greenhouse gas
Increases soil fertility (used as green Essential to civilization
manure) Products
Raw material for shelter and used as fuel Increased yields in subsequent crops
wood Better economics in subsequent crops
Better water filtration and internal Used as fence
drainage Protection of animals from theft and
Environmental benefits injury
Reduce erosion
1.2. Definition of terminologies
Forage: Edible parts of plants, other than separated grain, that can provide feed for grazing
animals, or that can be harvested for feeding. Includes browse, herbage, and mast
Browse: Leaf and twig growth of shrubs, woody vines, trees, and other non-herbaceous
vegetation available for animal consumption.
Herb: Any flowering plant except those developing persistent woody stems above ground.
Herbaceous: Non woody vegetation.
Forb: Any herbaceous broadleaf plant that is not a grass and is not grass-like
Legume: A widely distributed family of plants (Fabaceae), including capable of fixing
nitrogen and generally highly nutritious
Grass: Members of the plant Poaceae or Gramineae
Grass-like: Vegetation that is similar to grass in appearance and is usually a member of the
plant family cyperacaea (sedges) or Juncaceae (rushes)
Silage: Forage preserved in a succulent condition by partial anaerobic, acid fermentation
Hay: Grass or other plants, such as clover or alfalfa, cut and dried for fodder
Fodder: Coarse grasses such as corn & sorghum harvested with the seed and leaves green
or alive then cured and fed in their entirety as forage
Green chop: Fresh cut forages
Foliage: The green or live leaves of growing plants.

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 – It often refers to plant leaves collectively when referring to the aboveground
development of forage plants.
Grassland: Any land in which the dominant vegetation is grasses.
Pasture: Grazing lands comprised of introduced or domesticated native forage species that
are used primarily for the production of livestock
Tiller: An erect shoot that arises from the crown of a grass.
Tree: A woody perennial, usually single stemmed plant that has a definite crown shape and
reaches a mature height of at least 4 meters
Herbage: the biomass of herbaceous plant, other than separated grain, generally above
ground but including edible roots and tubers
Mast: fruits and seeds of shrubs, trees, cacti, and other non-herbaceous vegetation available
for animal consumption
Forage crop: a crop of cultivated plants or plant parts, other than separated grain, produced
to be grazed or harvested for use as feed for animals.
Sward: a population of herbaceous plants,
Aftermath: forage grown following a harvest.
Residue: forage remaining on the land as a consequence of harvest.
Vegetation: plant life in general.
Vegetative: Non-reproductive plant parts i.e. leaf and stem
Chapter Two: Feed Resources and Feed Production Systems in Ethiopia
2.1. Feed resources in Ethiopia
• Different types of feed resources are available in Ethiopia.
• These are broadly grouped into concentrates and roughage feeds.
Concentrate feeds • brewery by-products
• agro-industrial byproducts Roughages
• flour mill by-products (wheat • natural pastures,
bran), • crop residues (wheat straw, teff
• oilseed cakes (noug seed straw, barley straw), and
cake, soybean meal. Linseed • cultivated forage and pasture crops.
meal etc),
Cultivated forages and pastures
Production of cultivated forage and pastures depends on
 availability of species that are adapted to the climatic,
 edaphic and biotic factors prevailing in the environment in which they are to be
utilized.
Suitability of a forage species to a given area is judged based on
 dry matter yield potential, persistence,

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  adequate feed quality, compatibility with other species and
 ease of propagation and establishment.
Cultivated forage and pasture crops are mainly important as cut-and-carry sources of feed
and as a supplement to crop residues and natural pastures
The type of cultivated forage crop produced is variable from place to place depending upon
the prevailing climatic and edaphic factors.
The most common cultivated forage crops include
 Grasses
 Herbaceous legumes and
 Fodder tree legumes/Browse species
Improved Grasses
Most ruminant livestock in Ethiopia rely on local grasses for their roughage and much of
their nutrition.
Example of improved grasses are:
 Buffel Grass (Cenchrus ciliaris)
 Guinea Grass/Panic (Panicum maximum)
 Setaria (Setaria sphacelata)
 Rhodes Grass (Chloris gayana)
 Elephant Grass (Pennisetum purpureum)
 Phalaris (Phalaris aquatica)
 Desho grass (Pennisetum pedicellatum)
 Oats (Avena sativa)
Widely used improved legumes
Forage legumes are herbaceous (not woody shrubs) and are used in undersowing,
intercropping, oversowing of grazing areas, improvement of stock exclusion areas, and in
mixed pasture establishment.
Example
 Siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum)
 Axillaris (Macrotyloma axillare)
 Silverleaf Desmodium (Desmodium uncinatum)
 Greenleaf Desmodium (Desmodium intortum)
 Stylosanthes species (The Stylos)
 Lablab (Lablab purpureus)
 Cow Pea (Vigna unguiculata)
 Vetch (Vicia dasycarpa)
 Alfalfa (lucerne) (Medicago sativa)
Improved Browse Legumes
Tree legumes are extremely important elements in improved forage production programs
because of their productivity and multi-purpose uses.
E.g.
 Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala)
 Sesbania (Sesbania sesban)
 Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan)
 Tagasaste/Tree Lucerne) (Chamaecytisus palmensis)
Improved Forage Production Strategies

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1. Backyard forage production: based on small plots and hedges of productive forage and
browse planted within house compounds and around their boundaries
2. Under sowing and inter planting
Under sowing works best with sprawling, low growing annual legumes but can also work
well with climbing legumes.
Intercropping is a method in which two fairly compatible crops, often a leguminous forage
species and a cereal crop, are grown together at a given planting pattern during a season.
3. Contour forage strips: mixtures of herbaceous and tree legumes, and grasses planted on
contour bunds or in narrow strips along the contour without any physical structures
4. Over sowing: broadcasting or sowing improved forage seeds into common grazing lands,
native pastures and degraded areas without any cultivation or other inputs
5. Stock exclusion areas: An important means of protecting degraded areas, key watersheds,
and common land.
6. Permanent pastures: comprise a broad range of annual and perennial legumes and perennial
grasses.
2.3. Limitation of pasture and forage resources
 Low feed quality and quantity:  Weed and bush encroachment
 Ecological deterioration  Low soil fertility
 Overgrazing:  Lack of seed and planting
 Border conflict: materials
 Drought:
2.4. Opportunities for improvement of forage resources
1. Pasture and forage genetic resources
 Pasture species: Ethiopia is a centers of origin of the cultivated grasses (such as
chloris spp., panicum spp., setaria spp. etc.).
 Herbaceous legumes: Ethiopia is a center of diversity for herbaceous legumes such
as the genera trifolium, vigna, lablab, neonotonia, and others
 Browse trees/shrubs: They provide protein, vitamins and mineral elements, which
are lacking in grasslands pastures
2. Biodiversity conservation: Conservation and use of grass germplasm has made a
significant contribution to the economic development of Ethiopia through the national
pasture and forage research programme.
3. Pasture rehabilitation: research on oversowing with legumes and grasses has indicated
that vetches (Vicia dasycarpa and V. atropurpurea) and local clovers (Trifolium sp.) were
successful in the highlands. In mid-altitudes the perennial Desmodium uncinatum has
shown superior establishment with Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) and Siratro
(Macroptilium atropurpureum).
4. Sown pastures and forages : Climate and land availability provide a good opportunity
for forage production. In Ethiopia most improved tropical species can be grown in the
lowlands (1500–2000 m) and temperate species grow from above 2100 m up to 3000 m
5. Integration of pasture and forage into farming systems

Chapter 3

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 Botany of Legumes and Grasses
Introduction
Botany, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology.
The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek word βοτάνη (botanē) meaning "pasture",
"herbs" "grass", or "fodder"; βοτάνη is in turn derived from βόσκειν (boskein), "to feed" or
"to graze".
The scientific study of the physiology, structure, genetics, ecology, distribution, classification
and importance of plants.

CLASSIFICATION OF FORAGE CROPS

Classification: is identification and grouping of individuals on the basis of specified attributes
(climate, vegetation type, season etc.)
Every individual within a group is more similar to other individuals in that group than to any
individual in any other group
The Importance of classifying the forage Crop Plants:
To get acquainted (be familiar) with forage crops.
To understand the requirement of soil, climatic and water for different forage crops.
To know adaptability, growing season and growing habit of forage crops
To know the economic importance of the forage crop plant and its use.
Overall to know the actual condition required to the cultivation of plant
Classification of forage crops based on life forms
Annual crops: completes life cycle in less than one year and are perpetuated (replaced
themselves) by seed (e.g. major grain crops i.e. corn, sorghum, wheat, oat, barely)
Biennial crop - lives more than one year, but not over two years and reproduce vegetatively as
well as by seed
the first year is a time for accumulating food reserves in storage organ & the second
season produces reproductive flowers and seeds. e.g, Brassica family (turnips, rape, kale
etc.) and some legume sweet clover.
Perennial - lives more than two years. E.g. Most of the commonly used forage grasses.
Classification of forage crops based on growth habit
Growth habit /seedling emergency of grass
Grasses have either a bunchy growth habit or creeping (spreading) growth habit.
Tufted (bunch-type, tussock) a cluster, clump or hummock of vegetative shoots or culms,
arising from a single crown.
The culms of a tufted grass may grow erect or in a decumbent fashion (curving upward from a
horizontal base).
Creeping- the stems trail over or grow underneath the ground surface, e.g. Cynodon spp.

Growth habit /seedling emergency of legumes

In general, legume plants grow in the following ways:
‘Bush type’- a central stalk with side branches appearing along the main stem and with axillary
branches developing, e.g Cajanus cajan,
‘Bunch-type’- a single crown from which several stems and new tillers arise, making it difficult
to identify a main stem. e.g Stylosanthes guianensis and Medicago sativa.
‘Creeping’- the stems trail over the ground surface, e.g Calopogonium mucunoides,
Macroptilium atropurpureum, someVigna species.

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‘Scrambling’- many of the creeping plants climb on to and grow over upright objects.
e.g Centrosema pubescens, Pueraria phaseoloides.
‘Rosette’- a vegetative from of some perennials developed after flowering or with the onset of
cool weather, e.g Medicago sativa and Trifolium pratense, at the higher elevations of the tropics.
MORPHOLOGY OF COMMON GRASSES AND LEGUME CROPS
The study of the physical features (external structure) of plants is referred to as morphology.
Understanding the developmental morphology of forage plants is important for making good
management decisions
Many such decisions involve
timing the initiation or termination of a management practice at a particular stage of
development in the life cycle of the plant
Legume Monocotyledonous,
Dicotyledonous Fine, narrow &
Have three leaflets Parallel leaves,
Net-like veins (reticulate) Jointed, hallow stem,
Taproot system Fibrous root
Grass
General Vocabulary of grass morphology
Leaves
The leaf consists of a sheath, blade, and ligule.
The blades are parallel veined and typically flat and narrow.
All sheaths have chlorophyll and contribute to the production of photosynthate.
The ligule is an appendage found at the junction of the leaf blade and the sheath, usually closely
addressed to the culm
Stems
The stems of a grass plant, also called culms or haulms, are joined; that is, they are made up of
nodes separated by internodes.
The nodes are solid, sometimes enlarged and serve to strengthen the stem
Internodes may be hollow, filled with a white pith or solid.
Stolons:
Are creeping stems that grow above the surface of the ground and develop roots and shoots at
the nodes.
Rhizomes:
Are underground stems present in certain species, with nodes and internodes covered with scale-
like leaves and sheaths.
Roots
Established grasses have a fibrous root system.
Inflorescence
The inflorescence is a cluster of flowers which includes the branch of a stem and the flowers it
bears. Inflorescence types are classified as spikes, racemes and panicles.
Flowers
The flower of grass consists of
the gynoecium (female parts)
ovary,
ovule,
style and

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 stigma
androecium, (male parts)
Anther
Filament
The grass seed (fruit or caryopsis)
All commonly used forage grasses have a seed unit called a caryopsis. The caryopsis is a fruit
because it is a ripened ovary that is fused on to the outer wall of the single ovule.
The morphological characteristics of Legume
Legumes are plants with flowers and produce their seeds in pods. Compared to grasses that have
long slender leaves, legumes have compound leaves with three or more broad, rounded leaflets.
Most legumes have tap roots that are able to obtain water from deeper in the soil than the roots
of grasses.
Legumes are highly valued because
 they are rich in protein and
 yield well without being fertilized with nitrogen.
General Vocabulary of legume morphology
Inflorescence
Inflorescences are flower clusters.
Legume inflorescences can be
 umbels (white clover),
 spike-like racemes (alfalfa), or
 racemes (field pea).
Fruit
Legumes form pods which contain one seed or many seeds. The pods vary in size, color, and
shape. They dehisce at both sutures which influences the probability of shattering during
harvesting.
Leaves
Legume leaf shapes are very different from grassess
Many clovers, alfalfa, and trefoils have three leaflets attached to a petiole making one leaf
(trifoliate) but some legumes are unifoliate.
Vetches have a series of alternating leaves.
Legume leaves may be
Pinnate - central leaflet has a longer petiolule (stem connecting leaflet to petiole)
e.g. vetch
Palmate - each leaflet has the same length petiolule
e.g. red clover, lupine
Stems
Stems of legumes show much more diversity than grass stems (culms).
There can be a wide variety of lengths, sizes, woodiness, and number of branches in legumes.
They do not have nodes, internodes, and collar regions so important to grass identification.

Chapter 4

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Climate factor and pasture growth

• The environment that plants experience depends on climate and the variation of weather
events within the climate.
• Climate refers to the long-term history of temperature, precipitation, and radiation for a
given region.
• Climate is the principal factor affecting adaptation of forage species or cultivars to a
given location.
• In contrast, weather includes day-to-day and short-term extremes in temperature,
precipitation (as rain, snow, or hail), relative humidity, wind, and solar radiation at a
given site.
• Forage producers need to be aware of the climate (i.e., the average year) when selecting
adapted species and cultivars to plant and weather events that alter within-year
productivity and influence day-to-day management decisions.
3.1. Effects of Solar Radiation on pasture growth
• Light (or radiation), temperature, and soil moisture are the three cardinal environmental
factors that affect the vegetative development and reproduction of forage species.
• Plant growth responses to radiation can be separated into those due to the quality
(wavelength or color), density (intensity), and duration of radiation (photoperiod).
• Under field conditions these factors are often interrelated (e.g., the density of radiation
and its duration are usually highest during the same season).
Quality (Wavelength)
• Plant development is better under the full spectrum of sunlight than under any single
portion of the spectrum.
• In addition, radiation in the visible range (400–700 nanometers, nm) is most active in
photosynthesis and is referred to as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR).
• Plants grown mainly under ultraviolet wavelengths (< 400 nm) may show retarded
growth or have their tissues injured or even killed.

Density (Amount)

• Reductions in light intensity (e.g., due to cloud cover) reduce photosynthesis and growth,
especially of C4 and sun adapted C3 plants.

Duration (Photoperiod)

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 • The duration of the photoperiod (i.e., the time from sunrise to sunset) changes with
latitude and season because of the slope of the earth relative to its orbital path around the
sun.
• The rates of photosynthesis and growth are generally highest during the longest days of
summer, when the most radiation per day is received.
• In addition to the photosynthetic role of light, photoperiod influences plant growth and
development.

3.2. Temperature and pasture growth

• Plant metabolic pathways (e.g., photosynthesis and respiration) and growth processes
(e.g., cell division, cell expansion, and cell wall synthesis) are catalyzed by enzymes.
• Temperature affects the rates of these enzyme-controlled processes, generally doubling
the reaction rate for each 18°F increase in temperature.
• High temperatures may lead to a number of metabolic disorders in plants, including
elevated dark respiration, enzyme inactivation, imbalance among reaction rates,
membrane dysfunction, and reduced synthesis of cellular constituents.
• Excessively high temperatures can induce flower sterility, especially pollen abortion,
leading to poor seed production.
• Chilling injury can occur at temperatures above freezing in some plants, mainly by
affecting either membrane structure and function or metabolism.

3.4 Water Relations with pasture growth

• Water is an essential nutrient for plants and comprises up to 95% of a plant’s tissue.
• It is required for a seed to sprout, and as the plant grows, water carries nutrients
throughout the plant.
• Water is responsible for several important functions within plant tissues.
• Water is necessary for photosynthesis, which is how plants use energy from the sun to
create their own food.
• During this process, plants use carbon dioxide from the air and hydrogen from the water
absorbed through their roots and release oxygen as a byproduct.

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 • Cell division and cell enlargement are reduced by even a slight decrease in water
potential, and directly reduce shoot growth cause stomatal closure and a decline in
photosynthesis.
• On poorly drained soils, serious soil compaction and plant damage caused by the hooves
of livestock, especially after excessive rainfall, contribute further to poor aeration and
reduced plant growth

3.5. CO2 and pasture growth

Plants use sunlight, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and water for photosynthesis to produce oxygen
and carbohydrates that plants use for energy and growth. Rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere drive an
increase in plant photosynthesis—an effect known as the carbon fertilization effect. Increased
photosynthesis results in more growth in some plants.

3.6. Soil factors on pasture growth

• Fertility is the capacity of the soil to provide the nutrients required for plant growth.
• Soil fertility is determined primarily by soil chemical composition (nutrient status), but is
also affected by soil physical structure (including soil texture, soil organic matter content,
gaseous movement, root growth, and water supply) and soil biological activity (including
nutrient cycling, rhizobia, and mycorrhiza).
• Like all plants, forages require 17 chemical elements for growth and development
• The nine required macronutrients are C, H, O, N, K, P,Ca, Mg, and S.
• Carbon enters plants through the stomata as CO2 and is fixed by photosynthesis.
• Hydrogen generally enters crop plants via the roots as water.
• Oxygen enters plants primarily as a component of air and as part of the water molecule,
and is released in the plant as a co-product of photosynthesis.
Chapter 5
Forage Crops Introduction and Evaluation
5.1. Desirable characteristics of forage crops
The desirable characteristics of forage include:
• Quick regrowth and short duration.
• Profuse foliage and heavy yield of fodders.
• Should have high palatability (Will the animals eat the forage?) and nutritive value (Once
digested, will the forage provide an adequate level of nutrients?).

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 • Should be adaptable to various agro-climatic conditions and different soils.
• Capacity to rooting and give continuous supply of green fodder.
• Resistance to diseases and pests and safe to feed at all stages of its growth without any deleterious
effect on animal health and growth.
5.2. Selection of forage crops
• The key principles for selecting improved forage species and their cultivars focus on
• their ability to persist under normal management conditions and produce large quantities of high
quality forage.
– This means that the species should tolerate grazing, and be able to flower and set seed
under normal grazing conditions.
• Suitable species will be drought tolerant in order to maximize production in an environment
characterized by a dry season.
• The new species must bring significant benefits over the existing traditional species/ fodder
sources, otherwise it is not advisable to grow it.
• Benefits compared to traditional species/resources can include:
– Higher yield – Soil conservation
– Better quality – Soil improvement
– Synergistic effects
5.3. Forage crops evaluation process/stages
• Assessment and characterization of new pasture plants begin when the first notes are made by the
collector and continue until the materials are discarded or utilized.
• Prior to the release into commerce an entry will have been grown out, observed and studied many
times by many people.
Quarantine
• New materials, about which nothing is known, are received by a government agency such as a
plant introduction station and grown in single, short rows up to 3 years for the following:
– A quarantine check to ensure that plants are free of diseases and pests and not likely to
become serious weeds;
– Build up seed supplies or vegetative material for more extensive tests; and
– Preliminary evaluation and descriptions on growth habit, flowering and seed setting,
variation, pests and diseases persistence, etc. A decision is made at this time to
eliminate the entry or to maintain planting materials for further testing.
Maintenance

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 • In countries that collect and evaluate tropical grasses and legumes, the plant introduction
center has the responsibility for increasing and maintaining seed supplies and vegetative
materials.
• An effort is made to accumulate several hundred grams of seed for storage under controlled
conditions of temperature and humidity.
• Accurate records are highly important and are usually coded and computerized.
• Descriptive information is published and made available to interested parties.
Early testing
• The performance potential of pasture or forage crops is usually determined from trials in an
introduction garden with plots of sufficient size to superimpose different treatments.
• The seasonal pattern of uninterrupted growth provides valuable information and allows
observations on flowering and seed-setting.
• Notes which should be taken include seedling vigour, seasonal growth pattern, time of
flowering, flower colour, seed set, plant height, leafiness, tillering, density of ground cover,
diseases and pests, weed competition, drought and frost tolerance, lodging of tall-growing
types, regeneration of growth during the second season, etc.
Forage production and quality
• Promising accessions are moved into trials of larger plots with sufficient replication and proper
designs for statistical comparisons.
• These are usually plots of about 3 x 6-10m that may be used for different agronomic studies
under cutting.
• Such trials comprise varietal (selections, strains lines) tests for determining herbage yields,
chemical analyses, botanical compositions and possibly nutritional studies.
• Based on comparative performance, selections are made for further assessment such as dates of
establishment, methods of densities of sowing, responses to applied fertilizers, heights and
frequencies of cutting, grass-legume combinations, regional testing and preliminary animal
evaluation.
Animal evaluation
• Only those accessions which have proved outstanding in the preceding trials should be chosen
for detailed animal studies under grazing and feeding.

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 • These experiments should be carried out in paddocks of sufficient size to carry several animals
each, properly replicated, conducted over several seasons and preferably done at several
locations.
Chapter 6
Pasture yield and quality

6.1. Forage quality

• Quality of forage is defined by its capacity to supply nutrients to support the nutritional needs of
livestock (the potential to produce a desired animal response).
• Animal performance, whether growth or milk production, depends upon the animal's potential
for production, as well as on how much dry matter (DM) the animal eats and the nutritive value
of the DM the animal consumes.
• Therefore, the two forage-related factors that determine animal performance are forage intake
and forage nutritive value.
• Collectively, these factors determine the quality of the forage.
Factors affecting forage quality
• Six major factors affecting forage quality (not yield), ranked by their impact on forage quality,
include:
– maturity, – environment,
– crop species, – soil fertility, and variety.
– harvest and storage,
Other factors influencing quality
• Several lesser factors also can influence forage quality.
– Weeds can negatively affect quality, especially in the case of noxious weeds.
– Insect pests can lower forage quality, particularly if they cause significant leaf loss.
– Plant diseases can affect quality when they result in a shift in the species present in the
field and when they promote leaf senescence.
• Insects and diseases generally have their greatest impact on yield and persistence of forages.
CHAPTER 7: Pasture Establishment and Seed Production

7.1. Procedures of seed production

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 The production of forage and browse to overcome dry season livestock feed shortages is
dependent on the availability of reliable supplies of quality seed at the time of planting to
ensure their long-term sustainability and economic viability.
 Because of the wide range of agro-ecological zones and farming systems in Ethiopia, many
species are required
 The principal objective of a local seed program should be to meet the forage and browse seed
needs of a forage development program.
Seed production systems may be categorized as:-

1. Opportunist
i. Labor intensive: involves hand harvesting seed from existing pastures at roadsides or
from other areas
ii. Mechanized: alternative source of income by large-scale livestock producers. Require
some degree of grazing mg’t i.e. Pastures aren’t grazed from early summer growth
until seed harvest time.
2. specialized
i. Labor intensive: crop is planted for seed production by the farmer. farmers are offered
adequate technical guidance by extension agents
ii. Mechanized: Farmers practicing this system must be highly skilled and
knowledgeable about seed crops
Site selection
• The best forage seed crops are produced in environments with
– sufficient radiation, temperature and rainfall for vegetative growth, favourable
photoperiods and higher temperature for floral induction and calm, dry weather
during maturation and harvest.
– an adequate growing season to support good seed set and maturation;
– freedom from frost; even, sunny conditions during flowering to promote flower
opening, pollination and high rates of photosynthesis during seed differentiation;
– access to labour for harvesting and seed cleaning; and
– access to markets and seed storage infrastructure.
– Most seed production program failures are caused by poor choice of site and grower
selection than any other factor.
• Material for multiplication must be chosen to match the prevailing conditions for climate,
day length and soils.

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 Establishing a pasture seed crop
The following general practices should be considered when establishing a pasture seed crop

• Land clearing: to ensure less competition from weeds and other pasture plants
• Seed-bed preparation: A clean, fine, firm seedbed allow establishment of the thick
population which is necessary for maximum seed yield
• Weed control
• Fertilizer requirement: based on soil test for macro and micro soil nutrients.
• Time of sowing: depends largely on the reliability of rainfall and potential evapo-
transpiration.
• Choice of vegetative material or seed: may be in the form of rhizomes, stolons, stem
pieces or cuttings (splits) or seed
• Inoculation: Certain legumes are very specific in their rhizobium requirements and
failure to inoculate such seeds before sowing could lead to poor nodulation and
subsequent poor plant growth
• Seeding rate: If low quality seed has to be used, the sowing rate should be increased.
• Spatial arrangement and plant density: Row planting is often recommended
• Depth of sowing: One of the commonest causes of failure in establishment of small-
seeded species is sowing too deeply
Seed dormancy: a natural protective phenomenon which prevents premature germination of seed to
ensure long-term survival of species.

Methods of breaking seed dormancy

• Storage: dormancy declines with time. Storage is often applied to grass seeds.
• Scarification: treatments are employed prior to sowing to abrade the seed coat and improve
permeability, e.g., most legume and some grass seeds such as Cenchrus, Melinis, and Paspalum
notatum require scarification.
 Mechanical scarification: The seed coat is abraded by passing over abrasive
surfaces or rubbing with sandpaper
 Hot-water treatment: Immersion of seed in hot water, the temperature and
duration of treatment depending on species
 For example:
• Chaemacytisus palmensis at 100o C for 9 minutes.
• Leucaena leucocephala at 75oC for 6 minutes.
• Phaseolus atropurpreus at 55oC for 20 minutes.

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 • Stylosanthes guyanensis at 55oC for 20 minutes.
 Acid scarification
• May be used for small experimental seed samples.
• Well dried seed is immersed in concentrated sulphuric acid for 5 minutes.
• The seed is then immersed in a large volume of water avoiding overheating of the seed.
• Acid scarification does have the advantage of killing any disease organisms on the surface of the
seed,

7.2. Management of grasses and legumes for optimum seed production

7.2.1. Management of grasses

• The aim is to promote the development of large numbers of seed heads in as short a time
span
• The major practices to promote this strategy are defoliation by cutting or grazing and
application of nitrogen fertiliser.
• This combination encourages the production of many new tillers or shoots in the first few
weeks of regrowth,
• Many other factors such as irrigation, pests and diseases and crop perenniality also affect
the development of seed heads.
• Defoliation is the removal of more o f leafy vegetative aerial plant part either by cutting,
grazing animals, insect pests or by any mechanical ways and biological agents.
• This cut removes/reduces old vegetation and, with the aid of nitrogen, encourages the
development of the tillers on which the seed heads will eventually be produced.
Nitrogen fertilizer

• Nitrogen is the most important nutrient for grass seed production.

• To the farmer, the amount of nitrogen to apply and when to apply it constitute an important
decision.
• This decision depends on many factors including the age of the crop, the time of year and the
climatic conditions at the time of application.
• The main effect of the application of fertiliser is to increase seed yield by producing more seed
heads.
• To achieve this, nitrogenous fertiliser should be applied as a single dressing as soon as possible
after the cleaning cut.
Irrigation

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• Irrigation ensures good seed yields in areas with unpredictable or low rainfall.
• Drought is known to reduce seed production but with good moisture availability, drought stress
is often eliminated.
• In some cases, however, moisture stress can be used to stimulate the reproductive phase.
Pests and diseases
• Various caterpillars can affect grass seed crops.
• Rats and mice can also cause considerable damage by cutting ripe heads off and birds damage
inflorescences.
• Ergots, smuts and virus infections are important diseases of forage grasses.
7.2.2. Management of forage legumes
• The first objective in developing a legume seed crop is to close the crop canopy as soon as
possible, certainly before flowering is initiated.
• This provides the necessary vegetative structure to maximise seed production.
• There are generally three groups of legumes available, namely warm tropical, cool tropical and
subtropical legumes.
• Seed management differs within these groups as a result of their temperature adaptation.
Mg’t of forage legumes for optimum seed production should consider:

• Defoliation. Legumes usually cut back at harvest & then allowed to build up gradually through
the growing season without any further cutting or grazing.

• Excessive growth, however, can be a problem if they are allowed to grow unchecked for the full
growing season,

• To avoid any reduction in yield, defoliation must be done early enough to allow complete
recovery of the canopy before the first flowers are initiated.

• Day length. Many legumes are known to be more sensitive to day length than grasses.

• For these legumes, the aim is to produce a closed but not excessive leaf canopy with a high
density of shoots which are ready to flower when stimulated by the correct day
length/temperature.

• Irrigation. Irrigation strategies vary in different legume crops.

• Care should be taken not to leach out soil nutrients by overwatering.

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• Pest and diseases. Pests and diseases are generally more severe with legumes than with
grasses.

• Insect pests include moth caterpillars, sucking bugs and butterflies that are seen feeding on pods
and flowers.

• Weed control. Legume seed crops are particularly vulnerable to weed invasion.

• Weeding is comparatively easy in these crops, particularly if they also form a vigorous
smothering canopy.

7.3. Harvesting, threshing and storage condition of seeds

• In tropical pasture seed crops, the choice of harvest time is a complicated decision because
some immature seeds will always be present

• the period in which high yields of ripe seed can be harvested depends on the species or cultivar
involved, weather conditions and harvest method.

• The decision to harvest the crop depends on what the head looks like.

• Seed moisture content, endosperm hardness or seed weight can be monitored, but for all
practical purposes appearance of the crop is the best factor.

7.3.1. Harvesting Methods

• Various techniques have been used to harvest tropical pasture seed

1. Manual harvesting: By using knives, sickles, scythes and reaping hooks

 minimal cost
 easy to maintain or repair,
 familiar to farmers.
2. Mechanized harvesting: Engine powered machines
 High cost
7.3.2. Post-harvest seed conditioning
Threshing and winnowing

• Threshing involves separating the seeds from panicles and straw, by using a special machine or
tool and winnowing the chaff from the seeds
• Winnowing is the act of separating unwanted materials from the seed by using air

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• Winnowing uses wind to separate heavy (but is lighter than seeds) and light material.
Threshing methods

• Seed materials can be threshed by hand or machine. The basic principles of each of these
methods are:
– Manual threshing
– Animal-powered threshing
– Engine-powered threshing

Seed drying
• The high moisture content of seed causes difficulties in threshing, cleaning and
processing, and reduces seed germination
• Freshly harvested seeds can have a moisture content of 40-70%
• The seed moisture content should be reduced to 18-20 % soon after harvest and to 10-12
% after processing.
• there are three main methods of drying seeds.
– Sun drying,
– Natural forced air drying and
– Artificial drying
Seed cleaning
• Seed cleaning is the removal of
– inert matter,
– other crop seed (including weeds) and
– damaged seed from harvested, threshed and dried material to increase marketable
value.
• Cleaning ensures good seed quality.
• Seed cleaning can be done manually by sorting out unwanted material from small seed
lots.
Seed labeling
• Each sack or bin must be labelled.
• The label contains the following information:
1. Cultivar
2. Date of harvest
3. Location of harvest
4. Sack or bin weight
5. Seed treatment (eg., scarification insecticide dressing).
Seed packaging and storage
• At the end of proce ssing, the seed is packed and sealed into containers

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• Seed is stored from harvest to the next planting,
• If seed is to be stored for any length of time, it must be at safe moisture content.
• A number of factors influence the viability and maintenance of seed quality during
storage
• The most important are seed moisture and temperature.
Storage facilities
• Generally, there are two major types of storage facilities:
1. Open naturally ventilated (or unconditioned) storage
• Seeds may be kept in traditional stores or rooms for short periods.
• They may be threshed or un threshed.
• If un threshed, they require ventilation at the base and must be stacked or suspended to
facilitate lateral and top ventilation.
• Storing threshed seeds is recommended.
2. Conditioned storage.
• The relative humidity and temperature of the store are controlled by mechanical means
• This is usually used for processed, packaged and high value seed
• Conditioned stores are required in humid tropical conditions if ambient temperatures
exceed 30°C and relative humidity is 70% or more.
Evaluation of seed quality
• Quality is a relative term meaning a degree of acceptance (excellence)
• It may be better, equal or worse in comparison depending on the criteria and wording
used
• There are 11 major characteristics of quality seed
– analytical purity (physical) – vigour
– homogeneity
– seed density (weight per
– moisture content
number) – appearance
– Health
– cultivar or genetic purity
– incidence of noxious weed
– origin or provenance seed
– Good germination rate
Chapter 8: Management of Improved Pasture
8.1. Grazing management
• Grazing management broadly speaking is the manipulation of grazing animals to achieve
desired results.
• These results generally include maintenance or improvement of range productivity,
efficient utilization of the forage resource and production of animal products from
livestock
• The essentials of grazing management required to obtain the optimum utilization of the
forage resource can be categorized into three: proper stocking, proper season of
grazing, proper distribution of grazing.
i. Proper stocking

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This is probably the single most important factor involved in grazing management. Most
range plants are welladapted
to tolerate grazing, but they do have limits as to frequency, intensity and season of utilization.
Overstocking is a common livestock production practice used in most parts of the rangelands
of Ethiopia but it is
a serious problem in the Afar and Somali rangelands creating imbalances in the use of natural
resources.
Overstocking is the result of pastoralists using grazing land communally without limiting
livestock numbers.
Therefore, proper stocking involves obtaining the proper ratio between animal numbers and
grazing forage, such
that the animals can meet their intake requirements and the plants can meet their
requirements for growth and
reproduction. The amount of grazable forage present on the range is the primary component
determining the
proper stocking rate

iii. Proper season of grazing

• Some ranges are suitable for grazing during all seasons while others are accessible during
certain seasons.
• Continuous grazing for consecutive years without resting the pasture results in
deterioration of the range
• vegetation. Therefore, it is important to determine the seasonal suitability of the grazing
land prior to developing
• the grazing management plan

iv. Proper distribution of grazing

• Grazing distribution is always a factor in obtaining efficient utilization of available range

resources. Animals

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• never graze vegetation uniformly. The patterns of utilization which result may be
classified as area selective and
• species selective grazing.
• Animals’ selective grazing behavior results from the preference of animals for grazing in
certain areas
• as opposed to other areas. Many factors cause area selective grazing. This includes size
and shape of pasture,
• location of water, salt, topography and other environmental factors. Livestock mobility
and duration of grazing
• in a particular area is a key factor for proper utilization of available forage. Livestock
mobility in this regard is a
• traditional form of pasture rotation grazing system, which discourages selective grazing
and attempts to match
• the natural needs of the animals with the forage resource availability in different areas.
However, its intensity
• depends on the animal concentration and grazing lands in a particular area.
• The distribution of water points and the timing of their use have direct impacts on the
condition and
• productivity of range plants. On the other hand, there are areas that are underutilized
because of bad distribution
• or lack of adequate water for livestock, while areas around permanent water points can be
heavily grazed. In
• general, mobility in a non-equilibrium environment is a necessary phenomenon to
sustainable development in
• which livestock is an integral part of conservation and development.
8.2. Grazing systems
1. Continuous grazing
• the animals are placed on the range and allowed to remain throughout the grazing season.
Advantages of continuous grazing:
• There will not be unused forage at the end of the calendar (avoiding wastage of forage
• It requires few fences and water sources, and

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• less monitoring of the pasture condition
Disadvantages of continuous grazing:
• there is fast depletion of desirable species and deterioration of grassland
• it does not give chance for reseeding
• lower pasture production and decrease persistence of many grasses and legume
3. Rotational grazing
• The pasture area is divided into two or more sub pastures, also called paddocks,‖ with
each sub pasture being grazed and ―rested‖ in turn.
3. Deferred grazing
• This system of grazing consists of subdividing grassland into three compartments with
grazing allowed alternately in two and third completely closed during the growing season
until seed maturity.
• Grazing is deferred in different compartments each year.
• This way each compartment gets adequate period of rest and chance for recovery.
4. Creep” Grazing
• Excluding mature animals while allowing young calves and lambs access to high-quality,
highly palatable forage is known as creep grazing.
5. Mixed Grazing
• Grazing of pastures by two or more species of animals (beef and sheep, sheep and goats,
etc.) has advantages.
• Animal species differ in the types of forage they prefer.
5. Zero Grazing
• Under this system forage must be cut daily by machine and hauled to the livestock.
• As in any pasture program, the forage should be used when it is in the early growth stage.
Advantages
• increased total forage production
• no losses from tramping
• no opportunity for selective grazing
Disadvantages
• high cost system
• high labor and machinery requirement

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Pasture improvement
There are two basic approaches to restoring established pastures to a productive state:
• Rejuvenation: recognizes that the soil in which pastures grow is often
deficient in the nutrients
• Renovation: Pasture productivity can be greatly enhanced by introducing
high-yielding forage species

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