napier grass

Cenchrus purpureus (or napier grass) is a monocot C4 perennial grass in the family Poaceae. It is tall and forms in robust bamboo-like clumps. It is a heterozygous plant, but seeds rarely fully form; more often it reproduces vegetatively through stolons which are horizontal shoots above the soil that extend from the parent plant to offspring. It requires low water and nutrient inputs. The Elephant grass was crossed with Pearl millet species to form Bajra Nappier. Subsequent work was done to decrease the internode length of Elephant grass. Napier grass plantations produce about 40 tonnes of dry biomass per hectare per year with an average energy content 18 GJ (5 MWh) per tonne, and the grass can be harvested many times per year. Generally, the grass is harvested in relatively short intervals (every 1 to 3 months) when it is to be used as fodder for animals (its main use), and relatively long intervals (4–12 months) when used for bioenergy. Longer intervals increases the stem/leaf ratio, making the forage harder to chew and digest, but in many cases the annual dry yield increases. The grass can reach a height of 7-8 meters after 4 months of growth. It produces best growth between 25 and 40 °C(77 and 104°F), and little growth below about 15 °C(59°F), with growth ceasing at 10 °C(50°F). Tops are killed by frost, but plants re-grow with the onset of warm, moist conditions. …

Napier grass is the most important fodder crop for the dairy farmers in East Africa. Its high productivity makes it particularly suited to feed cattle and buffaloes. Hairless varieties, such as Ugandan hairless, have much higher value as fodder. As it is able to grow with little water and nutrients, grazing has made productive use of arid lands for food production. Furthermore, livestock can be incorporated into the pull-push management system providing another economically viable purpose for the ‘trap’ plant. Napier grass is valuable to African landscapes as it prevents soil erosion. It can also serve as a fire break, a wind break, and to improve soil fertility. More recently, Napier has been used to alleviate pressure on food production by bioenergy as there are 2 billion ha of non-arable land suitable for energy crop production. Thermal pyrolytic conversion could be used to produce charcoal, biogas and bio-oil. Although this technology is not currently in use, it could be implemented as a means of providing energy to African communities, while enriching the soils of the local landscape. It is also used as source of fuel. The young leaves and shoots are edible and are cooked to make soups and stews. A Dutch company has turned the grass into a plastic that can be used for packaging.