Dry matter production and quality of Pennisetum purpureum cv. Taiwan applied different fertilizer

Abstract

Pennisetum purpureum cv. Taiwan is a tropical forage developed and used as a ruminant feed source. This grass not only high in production and quality but also grow well with sufficient fertilizer. The objective of this study was to determine the best response of fertilization on the production and quality of Taiwan grass. The research was conducted on pasture for 2 months at the Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Hasanuddin. The study was arranged to completely randomized design with 6 treatments and 3 replications i.e. T0 = without any fertilizer inputs; T1= 100% of urea; T2 = 100% of compost; T3 = 75% of urea and 25% of compost; T4 = 50% of urea and 50% of compost; and P5 = of 25% urea and 75% of compost, respectively. Taiwan grass is used in the form of 2 pools in each polybag. The compost was applied in 2 weeks before planting and urea fertilizer was applied after 2 weeks of planting. The result showed that input of urea and compost fertilizer have a significant effect (P<0.05) on the production and quality of Taiwan grass. Therefore, the application of a combination of 50% urea fertilizer and 50% of compost fertilizer provided a better response to dry matter production and quality compared with other treatments.