ABSTRACT
Summary Kenyan and Ethiopian natural grazing lands support more than 20% of the cattle population of the African continent. Many of the natural pastures of these countries are severely overgrazed, as unfavorable grazing conditions prevail for over half the year. Objectives of adaptation trials were to evaluate and identify introduced or indigenous forage and fodder species or 241ecotypes having genetic potential for high production of digestible dry matter for direct pasture and range improvement and for future use in breeding programs. Over 4,000 indigenous and 3,000 introduced ecotypes were evaluated for 24 vegetative characters in six ecological regions between 1971 and 1980. Promising species in the cool wet highlands situated between 2,300 and 3,000 m with rainfall ranging between 1,000 and 1,250 mm were oats (Avena sativa L.), woolypod vetch (Vicia villosa Roth.), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.), and tall canarygrass (Phalaris aquatica L.). Promising species in the temperate wet highlands ranging between 1,850 and 2,000 m with rainfall between 1,000 and 1,270 mm were woolypod vetch, oats, rhodesgrass (Chloris gayana Kunth.), setaria (Setaria anceps Stapf ex Massey), tall guineagrass (Panicum maximum Jacq.), napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach), and fine stylo (Stylosanthes guianensis [Aubl.] Sw.). In the warm wet medium altitudes of 1,500 to 1,700 m with rainfall between 1,250 and 2,000 mm the promising species in the wetter areas were napiergrass, rhodesgrass, tall guineagrass, and tall setaria. In drier areas, the most productive species were buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.), colored guineagrass (Panicum coloratum L.), Wilman lovegrass (Eragrostis superba Peyr.), glycine (Glycine wightii [Grah. ex Wight & Arn] Verdc.), siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum [D.C.] Urb.), silverleaf desmodium (Desmodium uncinatum [Jacq.] D.C.), and fine stylo. The hot dry lowland region in Kenya is between 150 and 900 m with average annual rainfall between 450 and 850 mm. Species adapted to this region included Wilman lovegrass, buffelgrass, scabra stylo (S. scabra Vog.), koa haole (Leueaena leucocephala [Lam.] de Wit), glycine, siratro, and centro (Centrosema pubescens Benth.). The hot humid coastal region in Kenya has an average annual rainfall of 1,015 to 1,270 mm, and species adapted to this region included napiergrass, rhodesgrass, tall guineagrass, tall setaria, buffelgrass, Wilman lovegrass, stargrass (Cynodon dactylon [L.] Pers.), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.), fine stylo, glycine, centro, and siratro. The potential forage production of the different ecological regions could be substantially increased by sowing highly productive forage and fodder species and by managing these lands properly.
