Plant performance of Pennisetum purpureum Schumab cv.Purple in southern region of China

【Objective】The present experiment was conducted to investigate yield, adaptability and quality characteristics of P. purpureum Schumach cv. Purple to provide reference for the certification and development of new variety.【Method】By taking P. purpureum Schumab cv. Purple as experimental material, its variety comparison tests were conducted in Nanning, Lingyun, and Tiandeng in Guangxi from 2007 to 2009. And furthermore, variety regional trials were conducted in Danzhou of Hainan, Fuzhou of Fujian and Zhanjiang of Guangdong from 2011 to 2013. Meanwhile its comprehensive characters viz., plant height, hay yield, stem-leaf ratio and nutritional components were determined,and were compared with that of P. purpureum×P. americanum cv. Reyan No.4 and P. purpureum Schum cv. Guiminyin.【Result】The results showed that, the average height of P. purpureum Schumach cv. Purple was 706.54 cm, which was5.92% and 8.44% lower than that of P. purpureum ×P. americanum cv. Reyan No.4 and P. purpureum Schum cv.Guiminyin, respectively. The average hay yield of P. purpureum Schumach cv. Purple was 32.74 t/ha in Nanning,Lingyun, and Tiandeng of Guangxi from 2007 to 2009, and 22.41 t/ha in Danzhou of Hainan, Fuzhou of Fujian and Zhanjiang of Guangdong from 2011 to 2013. While its hay yield was lower than two check varieties, the difference was not significant(P0.05). The stem-leaf ratio of P. purpureum Schumach cv. Purple was 0.98∶1. Moreover, by analysing nutritional components of its dry matter, compared with P. purpureum×P. americanum cv.Reyan No.4 and P. purpureum Schum cv. Guiminyin, the crude fiber was decreased by 4.76% and 2.78%, respectively; the neutral detergent fiber decreased by 5.07% and 2.22%, respectively; the acid detergent fiber was decreased by 2.54% and 1.99%, respectively; the crude fat was increased by 64.29% and 43.75%, respectively; the calcium content was increased by28.00% and 33.33%, respectively; the phosphorus content was increased by 9.68% and 22.73%, respectively; the total contents of amino acid was increased by 43.23% and 68.41%, respectively; the anthocyanin content of leaf was increased by 400.00% and 216.90%, respectively(P 0.05). 【Conclusion 】P. purpureum Schumach cv. Purple is new high-quality forage variety with wide adaptability, high yield, rich nutrient and good palatability, that is appropriate for comprehensive exploitation and application in southern region of China.