Functional strategies of Cymbopogon schoenanthus (Camel grass), a Sudanese forage grass grown under compost in the southern Benin

Abstract

This study tested the effect of compost on the functional strategies of Cymbopogon schoenanthus (CS), a grass from Sudanian environments that can be used as a food supplement in bioecological ruminant farms, with a view to its domestication. The experimental design was a complete randomized block with three replicates and three treatments (0 ton per hectare (Control), 5 and 10 tons per hectare of compost). Morphometric data on stumps, stems and leaf blades, collected on 5 stumps per plot, were subjected to an analysis of variance. Total stump height (HAT) and total number of tillers (NTT) were significantly higher under the dose of 5 t/ha compost per stump and lower under the controls: HAT=149.0 cm versus 132.2 cm; NTT = 112.9 tillers versus 45.9 tillers. Fertilization increased dry matter content (DMC) by 22.8 % and 48.1 %, and reduced specific leaf area (SLA) from 34.2 to 46.6%. This increase in DMC, coupled with the reduction in SLA, indicates a resource conservation strategy in the fertilized CS stumps. In contrast, the control strains adopted a resource capture strategy. The 5 t/ha compost dose appears to be more favorable to agro-ecological CS production.

Keywords: Cymbopogon schoenanthus, functional traits, resource conservation, resource capture, grazing