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Brachiaria decumbens

Authority	Stapf
Family	Liliopsida:Commelinidae:Cyperales:Gramineae
Synonyms	Brachiaria bequaertii, Brachiaria eminii, Urochloa decumbens (Stapf) R.D. Webster
Common names	braquiaria australiano, braquiaria comum, braquiaria de alho, braquiaria decumbens, capim brachiaria decumbens, Kenya sheep grass, pasto alambre, pasto braquiaria, pasto chontalpo, pasto de la palizade, pasto de las orillas, pasto peludo, pasto prodigio, rumput signal, sheep grass, signal grass, Surinam grass, ya-siknaentonnon, ya-surinam, zacate prodigio
Editor
Ecocrop code	537

Notes
DESCRIPTION: A trailing grass growing 30-150 cm tall with heavy lanceolate leaf-blades 8-10 mm wide. The erect stems arise from a long stoloniferous base and root down from lower nodes producing a dense sward. Flowers have 2-5 racemes, 2-5 cm long with a broad ciliate rachis and 4 mm long spikelets. USES: Used for pasture and hay. It is a valuable grass for erosion control as it covers the ground well, it withstands heavy grazing and establishes on poor and rocky soils. It is important because of its high productivity under intensive use, and its tolerance of low fertility and relative freedom from pests and diseases. KILLING T.: 0^oC. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial grass, growing from spring to late autumn. Within 90 days a complete ground cover should be obtained. COMMON NAMES: (English) Surinam grass, signal grass, Kenya sheep grass, sheep grass, (Spanish) pasto alambre, pasto braquiaria, pasto chontalpo, pasto de la palizade, pasto de las orillas, pasto peludo, pasto prodigio, zacate prodigio, (Portugese) australiano braquiaria, braquiaria comum, braquiaria de alho, capim brachiaria decumbens, (Malay) rumput signal, (Thai) ya-siknaentonnon, ya-surinam. FURTHER INF.: Scientific synonym: B. eminii, B. bequaertii. Suriname grass is native of tropical East Africa. It can be found between latitudes 27^oN and S at elevations from sea level to 1800 m. It has good drought tolerance and is adapted to a dry season of four or five months. However, it prefers 1,500 mm or more of rain. It does not do well where the dry season is more than five months. Within three months a complete ground cover can be obtained. It has a long growing season with productive active growth from spring to late autumn. It is very aggressive and there have been difficulties in forming long-term, stable associations with legumes. It may become a weed but can easily be ploughed out. It needs to be stocked heavily. Added nitrogen is required to keep it in active leafy growth. Frequent applications of nitrogen-up to six times per season-keep the grass in a very nutritious condition and improve live weight gain especially under high rainfall conditions. Dry matter yields may vary between 4-36 t/ha.
Sources
Grassland Index Skerman P 1990 pp 238-242 [TEMP, KTMP, RAIN, DEP, DRA, FER, PHO] Duke J 1979 pp 94 [PH, RAIN, TEMP] Duke J 1975 pp 9 [PH, RAIN, TEMP] Rehm S 1991 pp 406 [FER] Roecklein J 1987 pp 184 [USE] Ibrahim K 1987 pp 88 [LIG, USE] Bryant P 1973 pp 303-304 [RAIN, DRA, FER] Purseglove J 1972 pp 126 [USE] Bogdan A 1977 pp 54-57 [USE, FER] Mannetje L 1992 pp 58-59 [DRA, TEXT, PH, FER, LIG]