2. Breeding of
KIKUYU GRASS
Pennisetum clandestinum
chromosome no. :
2n=4x=36
By
Qandeel Zaineb Wasti

3. Contents
• Introduction
• Classification
• Origin
• Breeding/Genetics
• Uses as fodder
• Cultivars

4. Common Names
• west african pennisetum (English);
• kikuyo, pasto africano (Spanish);
• xi fei lang wei cao (Chinese);
• ya-khikhuyu (Thai).

5. Introduction
• Tropical grass species
• Noxious weed
• Popular garden lawn grass in Australia, New
Zealand , South Africa and southern region of
California
• Useful as livestock grazing and food for avian
species

6. Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Pennisetum
Species: Clandestinum

7. Origin and Introduction
• Native to Kenya, East Africa
• Introduced into Asia, Australia, the
Americas, and the
Pacific.
• Used on golf courses
in California, USA

8. Morphological description
• stoloniferous and rhizomatous perennial
• Height: mostly to 30 or 40 cm
• Forms a turf under regular defoliation
• Shoot: Sterile shoots have long leaves; fertile
shoots have shorter leaves.
• Leaf sheath: pale yellow-green, usually glabrous
• Leaf blade: linear, glabrous, finely serrated
margins.

9. Strong rhizome
development

10. Blooming
• Flowering occurs in absence of frost
• In bisexual spikelets, the
stigma emerges 1–3 days
before the stamens of the
same flower, encouraging
outcrossing.

11. Floral Biology
• Inflorescence reduced to a cluster of 2–4 very shortly
stalked spikelets
• Spikelets narrow, comprising 2 florets, the lower one
sterile, the upper one bisexual or functionally male or
female;
• 3 stamens
• single stigma, occasionally bifid.
• Caryopses ovoid, dark brown, about 2.5 mm long and
1.5 mm broad, pointed with persistent short style .

13. Selfing
• Enclose the inflorescence in the bag to prevent
cross pollination.

14. Crossing
• Emasculation:
1.Hand emasculation
2.Bagging parents clones together following
emasculation of seed parent
3.Mutual pollination without emasculation
• Pollination:
1.Hand pollination
2.Wind and insects

16. Uses
• Its used for:
• Permanent pasture
• ground cover
• amenity turf
• irrigated pasture
• hay or silage

17. Feeding value
 Nutritional value:
• >25% cp
• >70% DMD
• 0.02–0.05% Na can be deficient for lactating
cattle
• calcium levels may be inadequate due to “tie-up”
with oxalate.

18. • Palatability:
• Young growths are preferred by animals.
• Toxicity:
• nitrate poisoning
• bloat
• oxalate poisoning
• kikuyu poisoning

19. Production potential
• Dry matter production:
• 30 t/ha/yr provided N and P are available
• Animal production:
• Dairy cows can produce over 15 L milk/hd/day,
and beef animals over 400 kg/ha/year LWG from
vigorous kikuyu pastures.

20. Cultivars
• AZ-1,USA
• Kabete, Kenya
• Molo, Kenya
• Rongai, Kenya
• Noonan, Australia
• Breakwell, Australia
• Crofts, Australia
• Whittet, Australia

21. References
• http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/forages
/Media/Html/entities/pennisetum_clandesti
num.htm
• https://www.feedipedia.org/node/398
• http://www.fao.org/3/af298e/af298E16.htm