Full Length Research Paper

Effect of diverse ecological conditions on biomass production of Themeda triandra (Kangaroo grass) at various growth stages

Aamir Saleem¹, Sarwat N. Mirza¹, Irshad Ahmad Khan¹* and Jennifer Franklin²

¹Department of Forestry and Range Management, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

²Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Tennessee, USA.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: irshaduaar@yahoo.com. Tel.: +92-51-9290151 or +92-51-9290169.

Accepted 3 February, 2009

Due to heavy grazing of rangelands intolerable pressures on land, vegetation and its inhabitants has been observed. The main source of income in arid, semi arid and rain-fed areas of Pakistan is livestock rearing. The efficiency of rangelands has been adversely affected due to exploitation and centuries of overgrazing. Kangaroo grass native to Australia is known as the best grass to grow on different environmental and soil conditions. Biomass production of any grass is the key factor to estimate that if the grass could fulfill the animal requirements. Biomass production of kangaroo grass was estimated in this study at three growth stages on three different locations with different spacing treatments. Maximum dry matter biomass was observed at flowering stage followed by maturity stage and least was observed at vegetative growth stage. For all growth stages at closer spacing of 20 cm, maximum yield was observed while the least production was estimated for the spacing treatment of 40 cm. Maximum biomass production was observed at Rawalpindi, which is a high rainfall area, followed by Jhelum having medium rainfall while the least biomass production was observed at Talagang receiving the lowest rainfall among the selected range sites.

Key words: Kangaroo grass, biomass, dry matter, rangeland, growth stages.