Napier grass: solution to farmers/herders clash

Napier grass

The incessant clashes and the unrestrained killings perpetrated by herdsmen across Nigeria could become a thing of the past if the government would encourage farmers to key into Napier grass cultivation. 

Napier grass is one of the important perennial tropical forage crops that belong to family of Poaceae. It is also called elephant grass. It is native to Africa but now grown in many tropical countries. 

It is C4 plant and can grow well in marginal land. The grass grows tall and forms large clumps like bamboo.  Mainly used as fodder crop. Generally it is feed for cattle or made into silage or hay. It produces huge biomass and can be harvested multiple times in a year which makes it a good raw material for biofuel production. Napier grass is planted in marginal lands and slopes to increase soil fertility and to reduce soil erosion.

 It is also the main source for paper production in many regions.  It is one of the highest yielding tropical grasses. It is a very versatile species that can be grown under a wide range of conditions and systems: dry or wet conditions, smallholder or larger scale agriculture. It is a valuable forage and very popular throughout the tropics, notably in cut-and-carry systems.

Napier grass is also used in integrated pest management strategy as pull crop mainly in maize and sorghum producing areas. Napier grass is grown along maize or sorghum (in rows or in borders) to reduce the stem borer population.
It is also commonly grown in borders of many crops as windbreak and firebreak. 

Napier grass is a fodder grass that produces a lot of high-protein forage, the grass is known as Elephant grass, Sudan grass or King grass, it scientific name is pennisetumpurpureum. Napier grass is best suited to high rainfall areas, but it is drought-tolerant and can also grow well in drier areas. It does not grow well in waterlogged areas. It can be grown with fodder trees along field boundaries or along contour lines or terrace risers to help control erosion. It can be intercropped with crops such as legumes and fodder trees, or as a pure stand.

The advantage of napier grass is that it propagates easily. It has a softstem that is easy to cut. It has deep roots, so is fairly drought-resistant. The tender, young leaves and stems are very palatable for livestock and grow very fast.

The disadvantage is that it is an aggressive plant that spreads through rhizomes under the ground. If it is not controlled, it can invade crop fields and become a weed. The older stems and leaves are less palatable for goats.

This species has high biomass production, at about 40 tons/ha/year and can be harvested 4-6 times per year. Additionally it requires low water and nutrient inputs, also used primarily for grazing; recently, Napier grass has shown potential at attracting stemborer moths (a main cause of yield loss in Africa) away from maizeand hence is the "pull" crop. This strategy is much more sustainable, serves more purposes and is more affordable for farmers than insecticide use. In addition to this, Napier grasses improve soil fertility, and protect arid land from soil erosion. It is also utilized for firebreaks, windbreaks, in paper pulp production and most recently to produce bio-oil, biogas and charcoal.

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.

In a farmer's field, it is recommended that three rows of bana Napier grass be planted as a border crop around the entire field, A program could increase adoption rates through promoting its use in combination with livestock, giving economic value to the planting of Napier.

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. It is also an important forage for elephants in Africa, hence its name "elephant grass”. 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 as there is 2Gha of non-arable land suitable for energy crop production.

Elephant grass is very important forage in the tropics due to its high productivity. It is particularly suited to feed cattle and buffaloes. Elephant grass is mainly used in cut-and-carry systems ("zero grazing") and fed in stalls, or made into silage or hay. Elephant grass can be grazed, provided it can be kept at the lush vegetative stage: livestock tend to feed only the younger leaves. Elephant grass, as implied by its name, is an important source of forage for elephants in Africa.

Elephant grass is a multipurpose plant. The young leaves and shoots are edible by humans and can be cooked to make soups and stews. The culms can be used to make fences, and the whole plant is used for thatch. It is considered a potential second generation energy source crop in the USA.

Distribution 

Elephant grass originated from sub-Saharan tropical Africa has been introduced as forage into most tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. It was introduced into the USA in 1913, in the 1950s into Central and South America and the West Indies, and in the 1960s into Australia. It is commonly naturalized and sometimes becomes invasive. Elephant grass in mainly found from 10 °N to 20 °S. It is often regarded as a weed in crops, along roadsides, waterways, wetlands, floodplain, swamps, forest edges, disturbed areas and wastelands. It can withstand drought conditions and is a pioneer species in arid lands such as the Galapagos Islands.

Elephant grass is a summer growing grass that grows from sea level up to an altitude of 2000 m. It does well in places where temperatures range from 25 °C to 40 °C and where annual rainfall is over 1500 mm. It stops growing below 15 °C and is sensitive to frost, though it can regrow from the stolons if the soil is not frozen. Elephant grass is tolerant of drought and will grow in areas where the rainfall range is 200-4000 mm. Elephant grass is not tolerant of flooding and prefers well-drained soils. With poor drainage, it is best grown on raised beds. It does better on rich, deep soils, such as friable loams, but can grow on poorly drained clays, with a fairly heavy texture, or excessively drained sandy soils with a pH ranging from 4.5 to 8.2. Elephant grass is a full sunlight species that can still produce under partial shade but does not withstand complete shade under a dense tree canopy.

Elephant grass is fast growing and has a high annual productivity that depends on the climatic conditions, especially temperature and rainfall. Elephant grass requires high levels of fertilizer and a regular water supply. Yields range from 20 to 80 t DM/ha/year under high fertilizer inputs. With no, or inadequate, fertilizer, yields are in the range of 2-10 t DM/ha/year. Cuttings can be made at 45-90 day intervals, depending on location.

Elephant grass is often fed fresh in cut-and-carry systems. It can be manually or mechanically chopped prior to feeding to reduce the selection of leaves and stems by the animal. Chopping and then wilting in the sun for several hours reduces moisture, stimulates appetite, facilitates rumination and thus improves forage utilization.

When used for pasture, elephant grass should be heavily grazed so that most of the young leaves and shoots, which have the highest nutritive value, are available to ruminants. Grazing at 6-9-week intervals at a height of about 90 cm gives good utilization. Nitrogen can be applied after each grazing or cutting in high-rainfall areas. Any coarse, leafless stems should be mowed.

Elephant grass can be processed into high quality silage and may be ensiled alone.

In Queensland (Australia), elephant grass has been used for dry-season feed by rolling at the end of winter, as it can make some winter growth during this period.

In Nigeria, elephant grass has been used as mulch (25 cm layer) for weed control, for water storage and to reduce soil losses on slopes. It is used for erosion control and forage production in alley-cropping systems of agroforestry.