FORAGE ESTABLISHMENT AND BIOMASS PRODUCTIVITY OF Pennisetum purpureum AND Dolichos lablab UNDER CONTRASTING RAINFED-WITH-IRRIGATION CONDITIONS IN SOUTHERN NIGER - Soumaila Kouré Abdoul Aziz; IDRISSA SIDIKOU Djibo; MANI Mamman; AKOURKI Adamou (Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 2026)
Seasonal feed shortages are still a major issue for livestock productivity in Sahelian agro-pastoral systems. This study compared two forage species, two planting densities and two levels of organic manure to determine which factor had the most impact on establishment and biomass productivity of Cenchrus purpureus (Schumach.) Morrone (formerly Pennisetum purpureum) and Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet (formerly Dolichos lablab). The experiments were conducted during the 2023–2024 cropping season in two contrasting agro-ecological zones in southern Niger (Maradi and Konni) using a factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. Two forage species, planting densities of 10,000 and 20,000 hills ha⁻¹, and organic manure rates of 0 and 3 t ha⁻¹ DM were used as treatments. The system was mainly rainfed and supplemental irrigation was done only during critical dry periods to avoid crop failure. At Maradi, P. purpureum produced up to 35.3 t DM ha⁻¹ in the combination of a high planting density and manure application. The yields in Konni were below 14 t DM ha⁻¹ in all treatments. D. lablab was established and performed well at both sites and remained consistent. Overall, differences in biomass production were mainly driven by forage species used and not density of plants or manure application. The results of this study make clear the importance of site-specific species selection in order to improve forage availability in Sahelian systems. Increasing the planting density or manure only works well when the soil is moist enough to have a good crop response.
Keywords: journal article; Cenchrus purpureus; Lablab purpureus; forage productivity; Sahel; Niger