Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Forests and Rangelands Research Department, Khuzestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center (AREEO), Ahvaz, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Rangeland Research Division, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran
3 Senior Research Expert, Forests and Rangelands Research Department, Khuzestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center (AREEO), Ahvaz, Iran
Abstract
Perennial forage grasses are the most important range species in tropical regions. Cenchrus ciliaris is one of the forage perennial grasses with the C4 photosynthesis type, which is specific to tropical regions and has very high adaptability to the rangelands of Khuzestan province. Diversity in such habitats has led to differences in phenotype and yield of ecotype. To implement this project, the habitats were first determined by examining the herbarium addresses and field observations of Cenchrus in Khuzestan province. Subsequently, at the appropriate time, the seeds were harvested from 13 habitats identified in the province and cultivated in the research station Baghmalek and evaluated for three years after the establishment. Results indicated that there was a significant difference between the populations for dry forage yield, plant height, and tiller number. The highest forage yield, the number of tillers, and the height of plant belonged to Cenchrus ciliaris, collected from Shushtar – Cham-Konar with an average of 220 g of dry forage/m2, 130 tillers in the plant, and 55 cm height in the third year after establishment. Among the studied accessions, apparent differences were observed in the vegetative form, so that the population of the Shushtar-Chamknar was erect completely, while, the population of the Behbahan was quite wide on the ground.
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