Marvel grass is a very palatable and popular pasture grass (Göhl, 1982) despite its low nutritive value (Pacheco et al., 1983). Dichanthium annulatum is one of the dominant species of the Banni grasslands, a belt of arid grasslands on the southern edge of marshy salt flats in Kutch District, Gujarat, India. These grasslands are traditionally used to fatten sheep, goats and bullocks (Ghotge, 2004).
Beef cattle
The following results were obtained from steers fed marvel grass hay in Texas (3 locations and 1 regrowth): DM intake of 16 to 80 g/W0.75 (1.7 to 2.1% W) and DM digestibility of 36-47%, giving a digestible DM intake of 6.2 to 38.0 g/LW0.75 (Pacheco et al., 1983). In Cuba, male cattle grazing a mixture of marvel grass, Paspalum notatum and various legume forages did not require nitrogen supplementation (Castillo et al., 2003).
Sheep and goats
In India, marvel grass is commonly grazed by sheep and goats (Maharaj Singh et al., 2002).
Protein content is about 5% DM (± 2%) (Feedipedia, 2011).
It can constitute the main forage component of the diet but must be supplemented with energy and protein from conventional or non conventional sources (Saiyed et al., 2003; Trivedi et al., 2005). In sheep, combinations of marvel grass hay and dry leaves (75:25) of various fodder tree species resulted in DM intakes ranging from 2.6 to 3.3% W (60.6-74 g/kg W0.75) and OM digestibilities between 41 and 56% (Singh et al., 2010). Sheep maintained live weight for 36 days on marvel grass alone and for 50 days on a marvel grass/Stylosanthes hamata mixture (Rai et al., 1995). In growing goats, marvel grass was found to be of a lesser quality than pangola (Digitaria eriantha) and resulted in lower weight gain and feed efficiency (Hsieh WeinChang et al., 2000).
