Indication

It is recommended for soils of medium to low fertility. It has good tolerance to wet and waterlogged soils, being able to replace humidicola in these regions with the advantage of seeds not having dormancy and having better nutritional quality. Recommended for cattle in the breeding, rearing, and fattening phases. It can also be used for horses, provided that suitable supplementation for the species is provided.

Scientific name

Setaria sphacelata cv. Kazangula

Soil recommendations

Low to medium fertility, soils with drainage problems and flooded

Utilization

Direct grazing

Forage production

8 to 10 t/ha/year of dry matter (DM)

Protein content in dry matter (DM)

7 to 9%

Plant height

1.20 to 1.60m

"In vitro" digestibility

Medium

Palatability

Medium

Drought tolerance

Medium

Cold tolerance

High

Vegetative cycle

Perennial

Use and Management

Setaria is a pasture recommended for soils with medium to low fertility and poor drainage. Because it is tolerant to soils with excessive moisture, it has advantages over humidicola in swampy regions since its seeds do not have dormancy, ensuring faster pasture establishment, and it also has better nutritional quality. It is recommended for cattle in the breeding, rearing, and fattening phases. For feeding horses, it is recommended to provide adequate nutritional supplementation as it has a high oxalate content (+7% in dry matter), which can cause fibrous osteodystrophy, commonly known as swollen face.

Origin

It is a native ecotype of the Republic of Zambia and is widely used in South Africa for grazing and haymaking. Many setaria pastures worldwide originated from seeds distributed by CSIRO (Australia).

Morphological Characteristics

Robust plant with a large size (can reach up to 2 m). It has good tolerance to drought and moisture.

Agronomic Characteristics

It is a forage species for soils of medium to low fertility, tolerating soil moisture up to flooding. Good adaptation to cold.

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