What is the difference between sweet elephant grass and elephant grass?

Sweet elephant grass is a kind of forage grass, widely planted because of its high yield, good quality and strong adaptability, and very suitable for raising sheep, cattle, etc. So what is the difference between sweet elephant grass and elephant grass?

1. What is the difference between sweet elephant grass and elephant grass?

Sweet elephant grass was developed on the basis of elephant grass; it is sweet and suitable for livestock to eat, with a plant height of more than 5 m, 50-100 tillers, alternate leaves 40-100 cm long and 1-3 cm wide, and fine hairs on the leaf surface. Elephant grass has erect stems 2-4 m tall, smooth or hairy nodes, and dense soft hairs at the base of the inflorescence. The leaf sheaths are smooth or have wart-like hairs, the ligule is short and small, and the leaf blades are linear, flat and rather hard.

2. How is sweet elephant grass grown from seedlings?

1. Selection of seed nodes: choose healthy stems free of pests and diseases as seed nodes, tear off the leaves wrapping the axillary buds and cut them into small sections; the cut surface of the knife should be slanted, each section retains one node, and each node should have one axillary bud. If conditions permit, the sections can be soaked in rooting powder for 4 hours.

2. Land preparation and bed making: choose sandy land or loose loam with good water, fertilizer and light conditions as the seedling bed, apply 3000 kg of farmyard manure per mu, and the plot should be deeply plowed and carefully worked so that the surface soil is fine and loose and the soil surface is level; make beds 120 cm wide, with drainage ditches between the beds.

3. Sowing at the right time: in the north, seedlings can be raised from April to October, while in the south they can be raised at any time of the year. Insert the prepared seed nodes obliquely into the soil with the axillary buds facing up at a 45° angle to the ground, cover the axillary buds with fine soil, and immediately water thoroughly once with clear water to preserve soil moisture.

4. Seedling management: keep the soil moist during the seedling period. Seedlings begin to emerge about 7-10 days after sowing. If watering causes the surface soil to crust, loosen the soil around the seed nodes promptly, weed and topdress in good time, and when the seedlings grow to 20-25 cm tall, they can be taken out for transplanting.