Dr. Pravinchandra Chaturalal Patel, Chief Soil Health Specialist, Mati Mate Agromart Pvt Ltd, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, talks on the role of super hybrid Napier grass in forage and biogas production.
Napier grass is also known as Elephant Grass due to its height and vigorous vegetative growth, and recently they have developed Super Hybrid Napier Grass which gives very high yield of about 12 tons per acre or 300 to 400 tons per hectare. The specialty of Super Hybrid Napier Grass is higher yield, fast growth, best nutrition with protein content of about 16 to 18%. The other hybrid Napier grass has about 8 to 9% protein content. The animals need this protein for their higher milk production. The Super Hybrid Napier Grass is weather friendly, drought resistant, and can grow in any kind of location irrespective of the season.
India has about 8.6 million hectare available for fodder cultivation. India may face shortage of both green and dry fodder by 21.95% according to IGFRI. Super Hybrid Napier Grass is a boon to dairy industry as we can get supply of adequate green fodder of high nutritive value round the year. Since the grass will remain for 4 year at least, there is no need to plant repeatedly. Green forages are rich and the cheapest source of carbohydrate, proteins, vitamins, and minerals for the dairy animals. The expense on buying of green fodder is less when Super Hybrid Napier Grass is cultivated. This variety of Napier grass is also used for producing biogas also. Among Napier grass, CO 3, CO5 from Tamil Nadu Agriculture University are high yielding. The recommended space between plants is 50 x 50, 100 x 100, or 90 x 60 cms. Propagation is done using rooted slips or stem cutting. In stem cutting at least 2 nodes are needed to have one buried in the soil and to leave the other one outside at 45 degrees angle. At NDDB, they have a farm where they got the stem cuttings from Thailand and distributed to the farmers of Anand district in Gujarat.
Super Hybrid Napier Grass grows well in well-drained soil with pH of 5.5. to 7. It prefers warm temperature but can tolerate. Land preparation needs 2 to 3 ploughing followed by planking. It is a long duration crop, and periodical tillage activities are not possible once the crop grows in the field. Planting can be done on flatbed, and seedbed should be moist until germination occurs. Some shade is also needed. Since it is a long term crop, it needs maximum nutrients. Before preparation of the land, we have to add FYM 40 tons per hectare. The crop requires 150 kg of nitrogen, 50 kg of potash, 50 kg of phosphorus. Potash and phosphorous will be applied at the time of planting. 100 kg nitrogen should be applied as top dressing in two equal parts, one during monsoon and the other towards end of winter. After each cutting 50 kg nitrogen per hectare and 110 kg urea should be applied.
Productivity and nutritional quality of grass is influenced by the inputs in the form of nutrients, both micro and macro. So to restore the fertility of the soil, it is important to apply fertiliser in sufficient quantity. Soil analysis is very much needed, and based on the values we have to add micro or macro nutrients. Regular irrigation at an interval of 15 to 18 days in March to May and 10 to 12 days interval during summer months is needed.
First cut is taken between 75 to 90 days after planting, and subsequent cuts are obtained at 45 to 60 days interval for animal feeding. We can harvest at least 6 to 8 cuts annually for fodder purpose. Grass has to be harvested at 1.5 meters and leaves in full size with a sickle to ensure stems are not damaged. For CNG gas or biogas production, each of the cut should be harvested at an interval of 60 days. We have a harvesting machine to harvest Hybrid Napier grass in small pieces which is easier to feed the animals and for biogas production. When we harvest it early the crude protein content is great. For biomass production, when we harvest between 40 to 70 days, we get more biomass in Super Hybrid Napier Grass. When we delay the harvest, it gets more fibre content which is hard to digest. The grass contains oxalate, and it has an affinity to calcium in the animals. When we feed this grass harvested late, it washes out the calcium from the animal. So we need to plan accordingly.
The Super Hybrid Napier Grass can be fed to the livestock fresh or dried. When we feed them with dry grass, the other nutrients are not present, and green grass fodder has all the nutrients needed by the animal to produce more milk. The yield of Super Hybrid Napier Grass is twice that of ordinary Napier grass. It gives 300 to 400 tons per hectare. It grows 10 to 12 ft height in 2 months and can be cut in 45 to 60 days. Dry matter in Super Hybrid Napier Grass is 25%, protein 16%, fibre 26%, and metabolic energy 2 megajoules per kg. In Coimbatore, when they grow hybrid Napier, they grow legumes as intercropping to get maximum protein.
We can use Super Hybrid Napier Grass for biogas and CNG production. In Thailand, they use the grass for silage. We have to cut it into small particles for easy digestion. Biofics Pvt Ltd, Surat, is working on how much CNG biogas can be produced from 100 kg of green fodder of Super Hybrid Napier Grass. We found that we could get 6 kg biogas from 100 kg of grass. The process involves several steps. This being the energy source, the government, Ministry of Energy, Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency run projects to promote biogas production from Super Hybrid Napier Grass, to get electricity, cooking gas, and biogas for vehicles. The objective of the research is to examine effect of microbial pretreatment with different reaction times for 24 hours, and the suitable method is selected for scale up study and future applications. another method is to find the effect of alkali pretreatment with sodium hydroxide 1% with different reaction times for 24 hour pretreatment. The suitable method is selected for future applications. The study conducted at Biofics, Surat, showed the gas produced from the samples had methane concentration of 62.3 and negligible hydrogen sulphide. The chemical method is a tedious one, and so microbial treatment is preferred. It showed that we can still increase more biogas production by properly maintaining the harvesting period of Super Hybrid Napier Grass. If we want to run the biogas plant for 310 days, we have to grow the Super Hybrid Napier Grass in 150 acres of land. In 100 acres of land, we can have 80 acres of Super Hybrid Napier Grass and 20 acres of maize which can substitute Super Hybrid Napier Grass in the event of low production.
Can you explain the cultivation process of Super Hybrid Napier Grass?
It was NDDB people who brough Super Hybrid Napier Grass from Thailand. In Anand, the farmers are growing the Super Hybrid Napier Grass on the boundary of fields. Anand has 100% irrigation facility to grow this grass. There is no need for separate land. They continuously supply the green fodder to the animals, and they are getting higher milk production every day. So the green fodder with high nutrients is very important for the animals. Our milk production is low compare to the other countries as we are not providing quality food to the animals. Farmers need younger animals with higher productivity. Integrated farming system is the best one. We can apply the cow dung to the soil to improve its fertility. Farmers should apply organic materials to the soil to maintain the health of the soil. At present, the agriculture has declined as farmers are adding more chemical fertilisers to the land but are not getting the response.
What factors influence the growth and yield of Super Hybrid Napier Grass?
The Super Hybrid Napier Grass gives the maximum production and needs maximum nutrients for the growth. Before sowing the crop, soil sample should be collected and tested to know the major, secondary, and micronutrient status. Accordingly, we have to apply the nutrients through manure and fertilisers. Integrated nutrient management is very important. There is a need for 30 to 40 tons of FYM well decomposed. At present, farmers are not applying well composed FYM leading to growth of weeds. More expense is incurred in removing the weeds. We have to harvest in the right time, apply fertilisers also in the appropriate time. For every crop, we have to apply 50 kg nitrogen, remove the weeds, apply urea, and if needed irrigation as per the schedule. We have to test the water quality also. When the quality of water is not good, it may lead to low production. So soil health is important.
Are there any challenges or limitations associated with cultivating Super Hybrid Napier Grass?
Yes. The Super Hybrid Napier Grass needs maximum nutrition from the soil to give maximum production. So we have to monitor the soil up to 3 years. We have conducted trials on Super Hybrid Napier Grass in an ICAR project. We have to take care of the plant, otherwise the yield of the crop will decline. We have to apply phosphorous, potash, and FYM to maintain the yield for 5 years. We have to monitor the soil health after second year and apply FYM. Crop yield and soil fertility have direct relationship as proved by the studies. Soil health is important for good yield. If the soil is poor, people are also poor as they have no other source. Government of India is giving subsidy for biogas production. If we start producing biogas, there will be less requirement of oil from other countries and money saved.
Can you provide examples of successful applications of Super Hybrid Napier Grass in forage and biogas systems?
Recently a person from MP contacted me that they have a paper mill and they are using coal which is very expensive. They wanted me to help in growing Super Hybrid Napier Grass. They have 900 acres of land. I advised them to visit Thailand as India does not have a biogas plant that uses Super Hybrid Napier Grass. People in India are waiting for somebody to start so that they can follow them. When we instal the plant for 3 tons every day, then we need Rs. 1000 for bacteria culture. We can tie up with other companies for purchasing. We can bargain with other companies that purchase biogas and get more profit from the plant.
How does the nutrient content of Super Hybrid Napier Grass compare to other forage crops?
The Super Hybrid Napier Grass has higher nutrient content than the other forage crops. The production of Super Hybrid Napier Grass is also high depending on the management practices. If the soil is not taken care of, the production will be low. In monsoon, they can grow cow pea, and in winter some other crop to get the nutritive fodder for the animals. Indian farmers should understand that green fodder is very important for the milking animals. In other countries they get 25 litres per cow every day, but Indian farmers are getting less because they are not taking care of the animals.
Are there any ongoing research or development related to improving Super Hybrid Napier Grass for those purposes?
I recently visited the Indian Grass and Fodder Research Institute and met a few scientists there. One scientist said he is working on hybrid Napier grass, and I told him that work has to be done on producing good animal feed, biogas from Super Hybrid Napier Grass and hybrid Napier grass. We have lot of varieties in India, and we have to evaluate each variety for higher nutrition content. We can use that variety, but due to lack of information, we are lagging behind. I have seen that Super Hybrid Napier Grass has the maximum methane content which is very important for biogas production.
What are the economic implications of incorporating Super Hybrid Napier Grass into livestock and biogas operations?
Government of India has started research work on biogas plants just like the work on animal feed, increase in milk production. Thailand is doing research on how methane content can be increased in hybrid Napier. There is a huge demand for biogas in India. We are preparing biogas from kitchen waste and gobar which is not sufficient. In Pune, there are 200 biogas plants, where the farmers are not getting good price for sugarcane plants. They want to shift to planting Super Hybrid Napier Grass to get good money. It is essential to work on farmers getting money every two months. People are ready to do milk business or run a dairy farm because they get money every week. Dairy farming is a very profitable business now.
Pravinchandra chaturalal patel
Email - patelpc12@gmail.com
Phone - 09909022116
Napier grass is also known as Elephant Grass due to its height and vigorous vegetative growth, and recently they have developed Super Hybrid Napier Grass which gives very high yield of about 12 tons per acre or 300 to 400 tons per hectare. The specialty of Super Hybrid Napier Grass is higher yield, fast growth, best nutrition with protein content of about 16 to 18%. The other hybrid Napier grass has about 8 to 9% protein content. The animals need this protein for their higher milk production. The Super Hybrid Napier Grass is weather friendly, drought resistant, and can grow in any kind of location irrespective of the season.
India has about 8.6 million hectare available for fodder cultivation. India may face shortage of both green and dry fodder by 21.95% according to IGFRI. Super Hybrid Napier Grass is a boon to dairy industry as we can get supply of adequate green fodder of high nutritive value round the year. Since the grass will remain for 4 year at least, there is no need to plant repeatedly. Green forages are rich and the cheapest source of carbohydrate, proteins, vitamins, and minerals for the dairy animals. The expense on buying of green fodder is less when Super Hybrid Napier Grass is cultivated. This variety of Napier grass is also used for producing biogas also. Among Napier grass, CO 3, CO5 from Tamil Nadu Agriculture University are high yielding. The recommended space between plants is 50 x 50, 100 x 100, or 90 x 60 cms. Propagation is done using rooted slips or stem cutting. In stem cutting at least 2 nodes are needed to have one buried in the soil and to leave the other one outside at 45 degrees angle. At NDDB, they have a farm where they got the stem cuttings from Thailand and distributed to the farmers of Anand district in Gujarat.
Super Hybrid Napier Grass grows well in well-drained soil with pH of 5.5. to 7. It prefers warm temperature but can tolerate. Land preparation needs 2 to 3 ploughing followed by planking. It is a long duration crop, and periodical tillage activities are not possible once the crop grows in the field. Planting can be done on flatbed, and seedbed should be moist until germination occurs. Some shade is also needed. Since it is a long term crop, it needs maximum nutrients. Before preparation of the land, we have to add FYM 40 tons per hectare. The crop requires 150 kg of nitrogen, 50 kg of potash, 50 kg of phosphorus. Potash and phosphorous will be applied at the time of planting. 100 kg nitrogen should be applied as top dressing in two equal parts, one during monsoon and the other towards end of winter. After each cutting 50 kg nitrogen per hectare and 110 kg urea should be applied.
Productivity and nutritional quality of grass is influenced by the inputs in the form of nutrients, both micro and macro. So to restore the fertility of the soil, it is important to apply fertiliser in sufficient quantity. Soil analysis is very much needed, and based on the values we have to add micro or macro nutrients. Regular irrigation at an interval of 15 to 18 days in March to May and 10 to 12 days interval during summer months is needed.
First cut is taken between 75 to 90 days after planting, and subsequent cuts are obtained at 45 to 60 days interval for animal feeding. We can harvest at least 6 to 8 cuts annually for fodder purpose. Grass has to be harvested at 1.5 meters and leaves in full size with a sickle to ensure stems are not damaged. For CNG gas or biogas production, each of the cut should be harvested at an interval of 60 days. We have a harvesting machine to harvest Hybrid Napier grass in small pieces which is easier to feed the animals and for biogas production. When we harvest it early the crude protein content is great. For biomass production, when we harvest between 40 to 70 days, we get more biomass in Super Hybrid Napier Grass. When we delay the harvest, it gets more fibre content which is hard to digest. The grass contains oxalate, and it has an affinity to calcium in the animals. When we feed this grass harvested late, it washes out the calcium from the animal. So we need to plan accordingly.
The Super Hybrid Napier Grass can be fed to the livestock fresh or dried. When we feed them with dry grass, the other nutrients are not present, and green grass fodder has all the nutrients needed by the animal to produce more milk. The yield of Super Hybrid Napier Grass is twice that of ordinary Napier grass. It gives 300 to 400 tons per hectare. It grows 10 to 12 ft height in 2 months and can be cut in 45 to 60 days. Dry matter in Super Hybrid Napier Grass is 25%, protein 16%, fibre 26%, and metabolic energy 2 megajoules per kg. In Coimbatore, when they grow hybrid Napier, they grow legumes as intercropping to get maximum protein.
We can use Super Hybrid Napier Grass for biogas and CNG production. In Thailand, they use the grass for silage. We have to cut it into small particles for easy digestion. Biofics Pvt Ltd, Surat, is working on how much CNG biogas can be produced from 100 kg of green fodder of Super Hybrid Napier Grass. We found that we could get 6 kg biogas from 100 kg of grass. The process involves several steps. This being the energy source, the government, Ministry of Energy, Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency run projects to promote biogas production from Super Hybrid Napier Grass, to get electricity, cooking gas, and biogas for vehicles. The objective of the research is to examine effect of microbial pretreatment with different reaction times for 24 hours, and the suitable method is selected for scale up study and future applications. another method is to find the effect of alkali pretreatment with sodium hydroxide 1% with different reaction times for 24 hour pretreatment. The suitable method is selected for future applications. The study conducted at Biofics, Surat, showed the gas produced from the samples had methane concentration of 62.3 and negligible hydrogen sulphide. The chemical method is a tedious one, and so microbial treatment is preferred. It showed that we can still increase more biogas production by properly maintaining the harvesting period of Super Hybrid Napier Grass. If we want to run the biogas plant for 310 days, we have to grow the Super Hybrid Napier Grass in 150 acres of land. In 100 acres of land, we can have 80 acres of Super Hybrid Napier Grass and 20 acres of maize which can substitute Super Hybrid Napier Grass in the event of low production.
Can you explain the cultivation process of Super Hybrid Napier Grass?
It was NDDB people who brough Super Hybrid Napier Grass from Thailand. In Anand, the farmers are growing the Super Hybrid Napier Grass on the boundary of fields. Anand has 100% irrigation facility to grow this grass. There is no need for separate land. They continuously supply the green fodder to the animals, and they are getting higher milk production every day. So the green fodder with high nutrients is very important for the animals. Our milk production is low compare to the other countries as we are not providing quality food to the animals. Farmers need younger animals with higher productivity. Integrated farming system is the best one. We can apply the cow dung to the soil to improve its fertility. Farmers should apply organic materials to the soil to maintain the health of the soil. At present, the agriculture has declined as farmers are adding more chemical fertilisers to the land but are not getting the response.
What factors influence the growth and yield of Super Hybrid Napier Grass?
The Super Hybrid Napier Grass gives the maximum production and needs maximum nutrients for the growth. Before sowing the crop, soil sample should be collected and tested to know the major, secondary, and micronutrient status. Accordingly, we have to apply the nutrients through manure and fertilisers. Integrated nutrient management is very important. There is a need for 30 to 40 tons of FYM well decomposed. At present, farmers are not applying well composed FYM leading to growth of weeds. More expense is incurred in removing the weeds. We have to harvest in the right time, apply fertilisers also in the appropriate time. For every crop, we have to apply 50 kg nitrogen, remove the weeds, apply urea, and if needed irrigation as per the schedule. We have to test the water quality also. When the quality of water is not good, it may lead to low production. So soil health is important.
Are there any challenges or limitations associated with cultivating Super Hybrid Napier Grass?
Yes. The Super Hybrid Napier Grass needs maximum nutrition from the soil to give maximum production. So we have to monitor the soil up to 3 years. We have conducted trials on Super Hybrid Napier Grass in an ICAR project. We have to take care of the plant, otherwise the yield of the crop will decline. We have to apply phosphorous, potash, and FYM to maintain the yield for 5 years. We have to monitor the soil health after second year and apply FYM. Crop yield and soil fertility have direct relationship as proved by the studies. Soil health is important for good yield. If the soil is poor, people are also poor as they have no other source. Government of India is giving subsidy for biogas production. If we start producing biogas, there will be less requirement of oil from other countries and money saved.
Can you provide examples of successful applications of Super Hybrid Napier Grass in forage and biogas systems?
Recently a person from MP contacted me that they have a paper mill and they are using coal which is very expensive. They wanted me to help in growing Super Hybrid Napier Grass. They have 900 acres of land. I advised them to visit Thailand as India does not have a biogas plant that uses Super Hybrid Napier Grass. People in India are waiting for somebody to start so that they can follow them. When we instal the plant for 3 tons every day, then we need Rs. 1000 for bacteria culture. We can tie up with other companies for purchasing. We can bargain with other companies that purchase biogas and get more profit from the plant.
How does the nutrient content of Super Hybrid Napier Grass compare to other forage crops?
The Super Hybrid Napier Grass has higher nutrient content than the other forage crops. The production of Super Hybrid Napier Grass is also high depending on the management practices. If the soil is not taken care of, the production will be low. In monsoon, they can grow cow pea, and in winter some other crop to get the nutritive fodder for the animals. Indian farmers should understand that green fodder is very important for the milking animals. In other countries they get 25 litres per cow every day, but Indian farmers are getting less because they are not taking care of the animals.
Are there any ongoing research or development related to improving Super Hybrid Napier Grass for those purposes?
I recently visited the Indian Grass and Fodder Research Institute and met a few scientists there. One scientist said he is working on hybrid Napier grass, and I told him that work has to be done on producing good animal feed, biogas from Super Hybrid Napier Grass and hybrid Napier grass. We have lot of varieties in India, and we have to evaluate each variety for higher nutrition content. We can use that variety, but due to lack of information, we are lagging behind. I have seen that Super Hybrid Napier Grass has the maximum methane content which is very important for biogas production.
What are the economic implications of incorporating Super Hybrid Napier Grass into livestock and biogas operations?
Government of India has started research work on biogas plants just like the work on animal feed, increase in milk production. Thailand is doing research on how methane content can be increased in hybrid Napier. There is a huge demand for biogas in India. We are preparing biogas from kitchen waste and gobar which is not sufficient. In Pune, there are 200 biogas plants, where the farmers are not getting good price for sugarcane plants. They want to shift to planting Super Hybrid Napier Grass to get good money. It is essential to work on farmers getting money every two months. People are ready to do milk business or run a dairy farm because they get money every week. Dairy farming is a very profitable business now.
Pravinchandra chaturalal patel
Email - patelpc12@gmail.com
Phone - 09909022116