Evaluation of Agronomic performance and Biomass Yield of Buffel grass and Silver leaf desmodium Grown in Pure Stands and in Mixture At Different Harvesting Times in Gozamen District, East Gojjam Zone, Ethiopia.

The objectives of this study were evaluating the effect of grass-legume mixture and time of harvesting on the agronomic performance and biomass yield of Buffel grass and Silver leaf desmodium planted in pure stand and in mixture. The study was conducted in a 3 x3 factorial arrangement of treatments in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The first factor was forage species (Buffelgrass, Silver leaf desmodium and Buffelgrass/Silver leaf desmodium mixture) and three times of harvesting (HT1, HT2, and HT3). Plant height, number of branches per plant of the legume, leaf length and leaf area of the grass were significantly affected (p<0.05) by harvesting time. Number of tillers per plant, basal circumference and number of leaves per plant of the grass were significantly affected by harvesting time and forage species, and the interaction effect was significant (p>0.05) on the basal circumference of the grass. DM yield of Buffelgrass was significantly affected by harvesting times. The highest DM yield in Buffelgrass was recorded in the later harvesting time (HT3) compared to HT1 and HT2. The highest DMY in Buffelgrass (3.0 t /ha) was recorded at Buffelgrass planted with desmodium compared to (2.79 t /ha) at the sole Buffel grass. In Silver leaf desmodium, the highest DMY (2.64 t/ha) was recorded at the third harvesting time (HT3) while the least (1.95 t/ha) was recorded at the first harvesting time. The total DMY recorded at grass/legume mixture was higher compared to the grass and forage legume grown in pure-stand. Harvesting time, forage species and their interaction showed significant (p<0.001) effect on CPY. Generally, agronomic performance and dry matter yields of grass and legume monocultures, as well as the mixture, were generally low at the early days of harvesting compared to later days of harvesting.