The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Rhodes Grass

(Chloris gayana), a perennial plant of the family Gramineae. Rhodes grass is 90 to 180 cm tall and has long, fruticose-aggregate, leafy shoots that root at the nodes. The leaf blades are broadly linear, and the inflorescence has digitately approximate spike-like branchlets. The spikelets, which are two- to four-flowered, are arranged in two rows. The lemma is awned. Rhodes grass grows in arid mountain regions of South and East Africa. It is cultivated as a pasture and hay plant in arid tropics and subtropics. The plant tolerates grazing and pasturing well.

REFERENCE

Beliuchenko, I. S. Zlakovye kormovye rasteniia tropicheskogo poiasa, part 1. Moscow, 1969.

References in periodicals archive

Chemical composition of Rhodes and Sporobolus grass (DM basis) Item Rhodes grass Sporobolus grass Crude protein 10.10 7.28 Acid detergent fiber 35.90 32.93 Neutral detergent fiber 73.21 72.48 Ash 10.70 13.45 Table 2.

Growth performances and carcass characteristics of indigenous lambs fed halophyte Sporobolus virginicus grass hay

As Rhodes grass colonised the spoil plots, sediment loss and runoff EC declined, particularly on the 10% slope where there was an 8-fold reduction in average runoff EC, from a peak of 2.9 mS/cm in Year 2 to 0.3 mS/cm in Year 6 (Fig.

Impact of vegetative cover and slope on runoff, erosion, and water quality for field plots on a range of soil and spoil materials on central Queensland coal mines

It is surprising that no changes in total organic carbon were detected among the treatments, despite the large differences in total aboveground biomass production over the 6-year trial period (Katambora Rhodes grass 50.6 t [ha.sup.-1], lucerne 72.5 t [ha.sup.-1], Premier digit grass 74.1 t [ha.sup.-1], and native grasses 37.1 t [ha.sup.-1]; P < 0.001, l.s.d.

The potential for sown tropical perennial grass pastures to improve soil organic carbon in the North-West Slopes and Plains of New South Wales

Rhodes grass was the dominant species on both the topsoil and overburden sites and was the selected species for the plant nutrient analyses.

Nutrient status of pasture ecosystems established on rehabilitated overburden and topsoil sites in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales

ADFCA had said that Rhodes grass consumed a whopping 24,000 cubic metres of water per hectare annually.

Date palms make up 98% of fruit trees in Abu Dhabi Emirate

Lawes and Robertson (2008) Seasonal variability of Rhodes grass production in the northern West Australia wheatbelt.

Effect of subtropical perennial grass pastures on nutrients and carbon in coarse-textured soils in a Mediterranean climate

Keeping this in view, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of three grass species (Green panic Cv Tanzania, Mott grass, Rhodes grass) at the research field of PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi.

FORAGE PRODUCTION AND NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF GRASSES IN MESIC CLIMATE OF POTHWAR PLATEAU, RAWALPINDI

The Farmers' Services Centre has determined that buffel grass, a kind of pasture grass, is a more sensible alternative to Rhodes grass and the centre has begun educating farmers on its proper cultivation methods.

Farmers told to shift to more water-efficient fodder

At least 2,000 acres is under Boma Rhodes grass for hay production.

Lessons from President's farm

"Rhodes grass does not provide a return in terms of nutrition for animals, such as camels, goats and cows compared to the level of water consumed," Al Reyaysa told Gulf News.

Farmers get official nod to import quality fodder

Rhodes production consumes about 60 per cent of the irrigation water and the Western Region produces about 29 per cent of Rhodes grass in the emirate.

Abu Dhabi seeks to reduce usage of water, fertilizers