ABSTRACT
Doob grass is also known as Bahama grass, dog’s tooth grass, devil’s grass, couch grass, wire grass, and scutch grass. Doob grass have high nutritional value, excellent palatability, persistence even under adverse conditions, high tolerance to intensive grazing, and unique soil-binding capacity for soil conservation. Bermuda grasses establish rapidly and spread by vegetative propagules, both above ground (stolons) and below ground (rhizomes). It grows well on alluvial, red, and black soils with pH ranging from 5.5 to 8.0. The grass can tolerate considerable amount of salinity and alkalinity. The first cut is usually taken about 90-100 days after planting or sowing. Clipping is done at 4-5 cm above the ground level. The average green herbage yields from each cut are about 70-80 q/ha. The monsoon yields are higher than those of the hot and dry season. The average annual green herbage yields are 300 q/ha in North India and 450 q/ha in South India. It is palatable and acceptable to all types of livestock and dairy animals. The dry matter (DM) content is about 25-30% of fresh herbage. Crude protein content ranges from 7% to 18% of the DM.
