How to select King Napier grass seeds? What are the seedling-raising methods?

King Napier grass, also called grain grass, sugarcane grass and so on, is a hybrid of Napier grass and American pearl millet, and has a very strong tillering ability. It has high nutritional value and good palatability, and is a green feed often planted for raising cattle, sheep and so on. When growing wildly it can reach up to 6 m tall, and is called the "king of grasses." So how do you select King Napier grass seeds? What are the seedling-raising methods? Let's take a look together below.

1. How to select King Napier grass seeds?

King Napier grass is a vegetatively propagated plant. King Napier grass seeds are rather fine, so you should select plump seeds that have been treated. However, because raising seedlings from grass seeds has a very low emergence rate and slow growth, mature King Napier grass stem nodes should be used as planting material, and asexual cultivation should be adopted. Stem node cuttings or root and stem division and transplanting can be used to rapidly expand propagation. Before introducing the planting material, you should buy pure King Napier grass seed stems. Napier grass and Guimu No. 1 are extremely similar to King Napier grass, so attention must be paid to identification when introducing the variety.

2. What are the seedling-raising methods for King Napier grass?

1. Land selection and preparation

King Napier grass likes high temperatures, likes water and fertilizer, and is not tolerant of waterlogging. Therefore, soil with deep, loose and fertile layers, facing the sun, and with good drainage should be chosen. Before planting, plow deeply and remove weeds, stones and other objects.

Break up and loosen the soil clods, and heavily apply farmyard manure as base fertilizer. It is best to plant in raised beds, which is good for drainage and field management. Sandy soil or sloping hill land should be prepared into beds to facilitate irrigation. Steep slopes should be planted in parallel along contour lines to help conserve soil and water. Flat clay land and low-lying riverbank land should be prepared into ridges with furrows between the ridges to facilitate drainage.

For a newly built base, it is best to deep-plow the land in the winter of the year before planting. After freezing through the winter, the soil becomes mellow. Before planting, shallow-plow once more, and apply 3000 kg of farmyard manure or 100 kg of compound fertilizer per mu.

2. Seedling-raising time

Generally, raising seedlings from February to May is more suitable. But it is best to sow and raise seedlings in March when the temperature reaches above 15C. When the temperature is lower, you can also raise seedlings under an arched shed covered with plastic film to keep warm, and seedlings can be raised at any time of the year.

3. Seed node preparation

Select mature plants aged 6 months or more, and choose healthy stems free of pests and diseases as seed nodes. First tear off the leaves wrapping the axillary buds, and cut into small sections with a knife. The cut surface at the knife opening should be slanted. Each section should retain one node, and each node should have one axillary bud. Leave the upper part of the bud eye short and the lower part long. To improve the survival rate, if conditions permit, you can soak the stems in 100 ppm ABT rooting powder for 28 hours (1 gram of rooting powder can treat 3000-5000 stem nodes), then dip the cut in plant ash or soak it in 20% limewater for 30 minutes for antiseptic and disinfection treatment. Plant the seed nodes cut that day promptly to prevent loss of water.

4. Seedling bed preparation

Sandy land or loose loam with good water, fertilizer and light conditions should be chosen as the seedling-raising land. Apply 3000 kg of farmyard manure per mu. The plot should be deeply plowed and finely worked so that the surface soil is fine and loose and the soil surface is level. Make beds 11.5 m wide, with drainage ditches between the beds.

The above is an introduction to King Napier grass. As the saying goes, good seeds are the hope of a good harvest. If what is introduced is not pure King Napier grass, it will bring huge losses. Generally, to ensure the emergence rate of King Napier grass stem nodes (root stems), the method of raising seedlings first and then transplanting should be adopted for cultivation.

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