A Detailed Guide to Pennisetum Planting Techniques and Hybrid Pennisetum Planting Methods

Hybrid pennisetum is a triploid hybrid produced by crossing diploid American pennisetum with tetraploid elephant grass; its offspring are sterile, and in production it is usually propagated by first-generation hybrid seeds or vegetatively. This variety is a tropical-type forage grass. When planted in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, it generally produces 150,000 kg of fresh grass per hectare, and the fresh grass has a high crude protein content with a relatively balanced amino acid profile, making it a high-quality feed for raising poultry, livestock and fish. In recent years, its planting area has developed very rapidly.

Pennisetum Planting Techniques

It prefers a warm, humid climate and clayey soil that is deep and fertile. Plant in spring, using mature stems or divided seedlings set out at a row spacing of 60 cm and a plant spacing of 30-40 cm. After 60-70 days, when the plants reach a height of 1-1.5 m, they can be cut; they can be cut 4-7 times a year, with a fresh grass yield of 75-150 t per hectare. It has good palatability and is a high-quality green feed for herbivorous livestock and herbivorous fish. Pennisetum is the summer forage grass recommended by livestock experts as currently having the highest yield in the Huaibei region. Its characteristics are high quality and high yield, strong regrowth ability, the ability to be cut multiple times, and freedom from pests and diseases. It is readily eaten by herbivorous animals such as sheep, cattle, rabbits, geese and fish, and can be fed fresh or ensiled. Under good water and fertilizer conditions, the yield can reach 10,000-15,000 kg.

 I. Main Characteristics and Growth Traits

Hybrid pennisetum plants are about 3.5 m tall, and each plant can produce more than 20 tillers; after cutting, the number of tillers increases markedly. The hybrid is triploid and generally does not set seed.

Hybrid pennisetum prefers a warm, humid climate. It begins to grow only when the average daily temperature reaches above 15°C, grows fastest at 25-30°C, and its growth is markedly inhibited when the temperature is below 10°C. In areas south of 28 degrees north latitude in China, it can overwinter naturally and be used as a perennial. This grass is not demanding about soil, and clayey soil that is deep and has good water retention is suitable. Hybrid pennisetum has a strong root system, is resistant to lodging, drought-tolerant and moisture-tolerant; it is free from pest and disease damage; it is relatively salt-tolerant, and still grows well when the chloride salt content of the soil is 0.3%.

II. Cultivation Techniques

Hybrid pennisetum has a well-developed root system and prefers deep soil layers; a plowing depth of 30 cm is required. For seed propagation, seedlings can be raised first. The seedbed should be finely prepared, and in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, sowing is done around the end of March. Sow 1.5-2 kg per mu of seedbed, using sparse drilling with a row spacing of 15-18 cm. Treat the seeds with carbofuran to prevent underground pests, and after sowing set up a small shed covered with film. The seedbed temperature is best controlled at 20-25°C, and after sowing the soil moisture should be maintained to ensure full stands. When the seedlings grow 3-4 leaves, apply chemical fertilizer once, about 2-3 kg of urea per mu. When the seedlings grow to 6-8 leaves, they can be transplanted to the field, with a planting density of 30×60 cm plant and row spacing, planting about 3,000 plants per mu. One mu of seedlings can plant 30-40 mu of field.

Only under conditions of high nitrogen fertilizer can hybrid pennisetum give full play to its production potential. Trials show that on soil of below-medium fertility, applying more than 20 kg of pure nitrogen (chemical fertilizer) per mu, or more than 1,000 kg of organic fertilizer (barnyard manure), plus an appropriate amount of chemical fertilizer as topdressing, is needed to obtain a relatively large yield increase. During the cutting and utilization period, chemical fertilizer is applied in split doses as topdressing to promote regrowth. On phosphorus-deficient soil, apply 15-20 kg of superphosphate per mu as base fertilizer. After each cutting, topdress promptly, applying 10 kg of urea per mu. Hybrid pennisetum is somewhat sensitive to zinc; zinc deficiency causes leaves to turn white, and when zinc deficiency occurs, a 0.05-0.1% zinc sulfate solution can be sprayed, once every 7-10 days, 2-3 times.

III. Feeding Value

Hybrid pennisetum has a long grass supply period; fresh grass can be supplied from around early June until around the end of October. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the fresh grass yield per mu can reach 10,000 kg. The crude protein content of hay is 9.95%. It can be cut green or ensiled. When cut green to feed herbivorous livestock, it is cut when the plants are about 1.3 m tall, giving better palatability, and it can be cut 4-5 times a year. When used as green feed for small livestock and poultry such as rabbits and geese, or for fish, it is cut when the plants are 70-100 cm tall; most of the leaves are tender and tasty, and it can generally be cut 8-10 times a year. According to fish-farming trials: every 25 kg of fresh grass can produce 1.5 kg of fresh fish. It can also be used as green feed for pigs.

Silage made from hybrid pennisetum is excellent in color, aroma and taste. Because hybrid pennisetum stems become relatively hard in the later growth stage, it can be cut once first in spring as green feed and then left for silage.

The Role of Pennisetum

Hybrid pennisetum has tender stems and leaves and good palatability, and both herbivorous livestock and fish like to eat it. Hybrid pennisetum has relatively high nutritional value; when the plants are 1.2 m tall in the vegetative growth stage, the stem and leaf dry matter contains 10% crude protein, 3.5% crude fat, 32.9% crude fiber, 42.4% nitrogen-free extract and 10.2% crude ash. At the same time, it is also a high-quality green feed for herbivorous poultry and herbivorous fish. Its grass production peak coincides with the peak food demand of fish, and the crude protein digestibility of hybrid pennisetum by grass carp is 82.71%. For example, when used as green feed for cattle and sheep, it is cut 5-6 times a year; when used as feed for fish, rabbits, geese, pigs and other livestock and poultry, it is cut 8-10 times a year. Besides green cutting, it can also be sun-dried into hay or made into silage. The grass supply period is from June to October, and it plays a certain role in alleviating the contradiction of high summer temperatures and a shortage of green feed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Efficacy and Effects of Pennisetum  

1. Pennisetum reduces soil erosion  

Pennisetum has very strong vitality and is a perennial wild herbaceous plant. Its root system is very well developed and can penetrate deep into the soil, reducing soil erosion and greatly benefiting the protection of ecological balance.  

2. Pennisetum can be used to make paper  

Pennisetum is also an important industrial raw material. After harvesting, it can be used to make paper and also to weave some handicrafts. It has strong toughness, and the handicrafts made from it are exquisite and not easily deformed. In addition, planting it on some riverside embankments can also play an important role in stabilizing embankments and preventing sand.  

3. Medicinal efficacy of pennisetum  

The whole plant of pennisetum can be used as medicine and is an outstanding Chinese medicinal herb. It can clear the lungs and relieve cough, and also cool the blood and improve eyesight. It is commonly used to treat diseases such as lung-heat cough and red, swollen and painful eyes in humans. During treatment, pennisetum can be decocted in water and taken, with the dosage between nine and fifteen grams. 

Growth Habits of Pennisetum  

Hybrid propagation mostly uses stems or divided plants. The parent plants, American pennisetum and elephant grass, are native to tropical Africa, and the first-generation hybrid is mainly cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. In China, it is mainly cultivated in provinces (regions) such as Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In South China it can overwinter naturally, while in Jiangsu and Zhejiang the seedlings need to be moved into a greenhouse for protection to overwinter. It prefers a warm, humid climate and clayey soil that is deep and fertile.

Hybrid pennisetum has tender stems and leaves and good palatability, and both herbivorous livestock and fish like to eat it. Its nutritional value is relatively high; when the plants are 1.2 m tall in the vegetative growth stage, the stem and leaf dry matter contains 10% crude protein, 3.5% crude fat, 32.9% crude fiber, 42.4% nitrogen-free extract and 10.2% crude ash. At the same time, it is also a high-quality green feed for herbivorous poultry and herbivorous fish. Its grass production peak coincides with the peak food demand of fish, and the crude protein digestibility of hybrid pennisetum by grass carp is 82.71%.

When it comes to pennisetum, perhaps many people do not know it particularly well. Pennisetum actually has many effects. It can be used as medicine and is a Chinese medicinal herb of considerable value. Moreover, pennisetum has strong vitality and is very easy to plant. Its root system is very well developed and plays a very good role in protecting the environment.