Species information
Mission grass is a valuable fodder, either grazed or cut to be used as hay by cattle. Its nutritive value and palatability is high before seedling and drops dramatically after it; it is thus recommended to prevent flowering by 6-week cutting intervals.
It cannot stand heavy grazing, which results in pastures being invaded by other species. In Benin, pastures containing Pennisetum polystachion and Andropogon gayanus had a carrying capacity of 0.16 tropical livestock units/ha (Agonyissa et al., 1998). In the Fiji Islands, mission grass oversown with Macroptilium atropurpureum and Stylosanthes guianensis induced an average annual live-weight gain/head of 94 kg in steers if unfertilized, but after a heavy application of fertilizer this increased to an average live-weight gain of 143 kg/head. Marginal live-weight gain at the highest level of fertilizer is interesting only if the stocking rate is over 2 steers/ha (Partridge, 1986).