Armgrass millet (Brachiaria distachya)

Datasheet

Description

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Armgrass millet, seeds, Kuala Selangor, Malaysia

Common names

Armgrass millet, green summer grass [English]; blembem [Indonesian]; rumput [Malay]; gome-gome [Philippines]; cỏ vừng; cỏ chỉ trắng; vĩ thảo hai gié [Vietnamese]; 臂形草属 [Chinese]

Species

Brachiaria distachya (L.) Stapf [Poaceae]

Synonyms

Brachiaria distachya (L.) Stapf, Panicum distachyum L., Panicum distachyon L., Digitaria distachya (L.) Pers. (Manidool, 1992), Brachiaria subquadripara (Trin.) Hitch., Brachiaria miliiformis (J. Presl) Chase, Urochloa subquadripara (Trin.) R. D. Webster, Urochloa distachya (L.) T. Q. Nguyen (Quattrocchi, 2006)

Related feed(s)

Description

The armgrass millet (Brachiaria distachya (L.) Stapf) is a stoloniferous annual grass rooting from the nodes. The culms (1-2 m long) creep on the surface of the soil. The flowering branches are erect, up to 20-40 cm high. The leaves are linear or narrowly lanceolate, 2-8 cm long x 3-7 mm broad. Inflorescences are 2-10 racemes borne on a 0.5-2 cm long axis. Racemes are 1-3 cm long and bear 2 rows of green, shiny, 2.4-3 mm long, oblong spikelets (FAO, 2010; Quattrocchi, 2006; Galinato et al., 1999; Clayton et al., 2006). Brachiaria distachya is generally used as forage and is very palatable to livestock. It makes valuable hay in India (Galinato et al., 1999).

Distribution

Brachiaria distachya is native to tropical Asia (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand). It is naturalized in the tropics (USDA, 2010), including Africa (Galinato et al., 1999), Australia and the Pacific Islands (Manidool, 1992). It is found in humid tropical lowlands and occasionally is common in lawns, crops (such as rice and sugarcane), open spaces, forest edges, on seashores and on roadsides where cattle can graze it freely (US Forest Service, 2010; Manidool, 1992). It grows best from sea level to about 800 m, in light shady conditions and on sandy loam soils. It cannot withstand waterlogging but is tolerant of poor soils (Manidool, 1992).

Forage management

In Thailand, Brachiaria distachya has been reported to yield from 3 t DM/ha/year with no fertilizer to 9 t DM/ha/year with mixed fertilizer. It gave 16.6 t DM/ha/year under 240 kg N + 100 kg P₂O₅ + 100 kg K₂O in the Chiang Mai region (FAO, 2010). It also yielded 15.89 t DM/ha under irrigation with an N fertilizer (300 kg N/ha/year) (Furoc et al., 1976). Armgrass millet can withstand a stocking rate of 5 cows/ha (Holm, 1973). Armgrass millet is sensitive to grazing and light grazing is recommended in order to maintain grass quality (Shanmughavel, 1995).

Environmental impact

Brachiaria distachya may be used as soil-binder in erosion control and as a trap crop in sorghum ecosystems where it reduces population densities of shoot fly (Atherigona soccata) (FAO, 2010). It is considered as a weed in upland rice cultivations where it hosts several diseases, pests, parasites and viruses (Galinato et al., 1999). In Thailand, armgrass millet can be a reservoir for phytoplasma bacteria, the pathogen responsible for the white leaf disease in sugarcane (Wongkaew et al., 1997).

Nutritional aspects

Nutritional attributes

The protein content of Brachiaria distachya forage ranges from 7% to up to 20% DM, which is higher than that of other Urochloa and Brachiaria species, making it a fodder of relatively high quality, though it is less common than other species (Lowry et al., 1992; Holm, 1971).

Ruminants

Brachiaria distachya is a palatable fodder grass (Göhl, 1982). It can be integrated in intensive cropping system (rice) as fodder for water buffaloes and cattle (Furoc et al., 1976).

Nutritional tables

Tables of chemical composition and nutritional value

Armgrass millet (Brachiaria distachya), aerial part, fresh

Avg: average or predicted value; SD: standard deviation; Min: minimum value; Max: maximum value; Nb: number of values (samples) used