Urochloa grasses have shownpromising results for smallholders to cope with feed shortages in tropical Africa. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of two Urochloa hybrids, Mulato-I and Mulato-II, in the Ethiopian highlands when managed under different plant spacing and harvesting stages. Treatments included three plant spacings for root splits (0.5 by 0.25 m, 0.5 by 0.5 m, and 0.75 by 0.75 m between rows and plants, respectively) and three harvesting stages: (a) 60 d of growth; (b) 90 d of growth corresponding to 50% bloom, and (c) 120 d of growth (corresponding to full bloom). Experimental plots were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications, and observations on the same established stands were made in two consecutive years. Varietal differences were observed in plant height (Mulato-II: 42 cm; Mulato-I: 72 cm), and herbage accumulation (Mulato-II: 3.0 Mg dry matter [DM] ha^–1; Mulato-I: 10.6 Mg DM ha^–1). Plant spacing also affected the above variables, but year of harvest influenced herbage accumulation. The rate of herbage accumulation tended to be constant, while that of crude protein (CP) declined and fiber concentration increased significantly with advancing maturity. Overall, the decline in quality at full bloom stage appears to be compensated by the greater herbage accumulation, suggesting that farmers can have enough time window to harvest the forages. While Mulato-I was superior in herbage accumulation, Mulato-II was found to be better in forage quality. The two grasses have potential to supply good quality forage provided proper management practices are applied.

中文翻译：

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Urochloa 草杂交种在埃塞俄比亚高地作为饲料的潜力

Urochloa草为小农应对热带非洲的饲料短缺问题显示出可喜的成果。本研究的目的是评估两种Urochloa的性能杂交种，Mulato-I 和 Mulato-II，在埃塞俄比亚高地，在不同的株距和收获阶段进行管理。处理包括三个根系分裂株距（行和植物之间分别为 0.5 x 0.25 m、0.5 x 0.5 m 和 0.75 x 0.75 m）和三个收获阶段：（a）生长 60 天；(b) 90 天的生长对应于 50% 的开花，和 (c) 120 天的生长（对应于盛开）。试验地块采用随机完整区组设计，重复 3 次，连续两年在相同的已建立林分上进行观察。在株高（Mulato-II：42 cm；Mulato-I：72 cm）和牧草积累（Mulato-II：3.0 Mg 干物质 [DM] ha ^–1；Mulato-I：10.6 Mg DM ha ）方面观察到品种差异^–1）。株距也影响上述变量，但收获年份影响牧草积累。牧草积累率趋于恒定，而粗蛋白（CP）随着成熟度的提高而下降，纤维浓度显着增加。总体而言，盛开期质量的下降似乎被更多的牧草积累所补偿，这表明农民可以有足够的时间窗口来收获牧草。虽然 Mulato-I 在牧草积累方面具有优势，但发现 Mulato-II 在草料质量方面更好。如果应用适当的管理措施，这两种草有可能提供优质草料。