Besides other green fodders like Berseem, Super Napier grass is one of the most productive and healthy green fodder for animals, especially for dairy farming animals.
Super Napier grass doesn't get any kind of fungal disease, never gets destroyed by grasshoppers, and most importantly, Napier grass can be sustained for at least 5 years.
Super Napier grass even can recover the 30 to 40% amount of less dry fodder. Dairy farming animals produce milk more than average in comparison to other mixtures of green and dry fodder.
Super Napier grass
Super Napier grass contains 14 to 18% of protein which helps animals to get healthy and productive.
This particular grass can have 8 to 10 feet tall and at least 6 to 10 kg fodder at once from a single plant.
Unlike Berseem fodder, Super Napier grass grows by cutting nodes. These nodes can be purchase by local farmers or your nearby branch under the government scheme.
Super Napier Yield per acre
- Cuttings required- 10000
- Compost- 10 quintals/year
- Water- 10000 liters /year
- Yield
- 1000 quintals/batch
- 5000 to 8000 quintals/year
Following are required steps and stuff for the cultivation of Super Napier grass-
Requirements to grow Super Napier grass
Seeds/cuttings
Selected cuttings or seeds must have at least 2 nodes, otherwise, the yield will not be satisfying.
These cuttings can be 15 to 20 cm long and white-yellowish by color.
You may also read Hydroponic farming
Temperature
Although Napier grass grows for the whole year, all seasons but they get affected by rapid change of seasons.
Generally, Napier grass can grow between 10 to 33 degrees Celcius, but more or less temperature affects their growth including a sudden change in seasonal conditions.
Soil type
Generally, alluvial and loamy soil seems better to grow this green fodder but sometimes it gets affected if certain fertilizers do not use with the soil.
It is a myth that most green plants can't grow or survive in desert regions but it is not applied on Napier grass to a limit.
But despite different types of soils, pH must be between 6.1 to 7.6.
Fertilizers
Organic compost is basic fertilizer that can use with almost every kind of cultivation.
During Napier grass cultivation, organic composting is very helpful and saves your money to buy fertilizers from the market.
Super Napier grass cultivation process
Land preparation
First of all, one of the major sections of Super Napier grass cultivation is the prepared land.
Plough the land with help of tractors or whatever method you want to.
Create '^' shapes row sections at the distance of 2 feet each. These '^' shapes will help plants to get all the ingredients particularly without disturbing another one.
Sowing of cuttings/seeds
Super Napier grass grows by cuttings of at least 2 nodes( mentioned above).
In the sowing process, every cutting pinch deep inside the soil and just the upper part of the cutting opens towards the sky.
Every cutting must fix at a 45 to 55-degree angle. They sow as a plant to plant distance should be 2 feet and row to row distance should be 2 feet.
Irrigation period
After the sowing process gets completed, the first irrigation does just by showering water on the soil.
After getting sprout and 15 to 20 days older, when plants get 15 cm height, we knew first irrigation apply on the plants.
The water level of irrigation water must not be above the middle section of the plants.
Next irrigations apply after few days of the weeding process.
Composting of plants
When plants appear 15 cm and just more from the ground level, first composting can apply to the plants.
Then after 3 subsequent weeding processes, composting can apply to the plants.
When you take first harvesting, then composting is required to apply on plants just after getting the same height of first composting and so on.
Spontaneous plants removing(weeding)
Because of the irrigation water, some spontaneous plants and useless grass can grow with Super Napier grass.
After 25 to 30 days, weeding of spontaneous plants is necessary, otherwise, they can stop the growth of your crop.
Weeding can be done just before 20 days of your next crops.
Harvesting of super napier grass
The first harvesting of Super Napier grass does after 60 to 70 days. Plants get their maximum height till the time of 8 to feet tall.
During the harvesting process, plants cut direct from their bottom portion of the stem but just above(2 to 3 inches) from the ground.
Next subsequent harvesting is done on the gap of 45 to 50 days each.
In one year, 6 to 8 crops of Super Napier grass can be harvest.
Super Napier grass yield per acre
Yield
- 80 to 100 Quintals from every batch
- 400 to 700 quintals per year.
Investment in 1000 Super napier grass plants
If you don't have parental land then it cost higher than expected, but if you have already then it cost you very little in a year.
In case you don't have parental land-
- Land cost- 2500000 INR
- Seed cost- 3000 to 4000 INR(for 5 years)
- Fertilizers- 8000 INR/year
- Irrigation water- 8000 INR/year
- Labor cost- 20000 INR/year
Total cost- 2530000 INR
In case of parental land-
- Seed cost- 3000 to 4000 INR(for 5 years)
- Fertilizers- 8000 INR/year
- Irrigation water- 8000 INR/year
- Labor cost- 20000 INR/year
Total cost- 25000 to 30000 INR/year
Profit from 1000 super napier grass plants
Total revenue
- 80000 to 140000 INR/year
Net income
- 50000 to 110000 INR/year
- 4160 to 9167 INR/month
Precautions during cultivation
- Don't fill irrigation water more than 2 inches when the plant becomes 20 cm long. It can affect the growth of the plant and create rottenness in your plants.
- Don't cut the fully grown plants directly on the level of the surface at the time of harvesting. cut them just a few inches over the ground level.
- Don't use chemical or laboratory fertilizers in your fields, instead use organic compost.
- Never use chemical pesticides because Super Napier plants don't get diseases.
- Your seed/cutting must have at least 2 nodes, otherwise, your yield may not be in extra amount.
- Don' use chemicals to kill spontaneous plants, you can separate them on 30 days gap.