Herbage productivity of the Winneba plains of Ghana

Abstract

The biomass productivity of the Winneba plains of Ghana was measured between January 1990 and February 1992. Ten sampling sites were chosen for the study. An area of 5.0 m W 5.0 m was demarcated and within it an area of 1.0 m W 1.0 m was harvested at monthly intervals, clipped by means of sickle at 5 cm above ground, and dried at 70 oC for more than 48 h for dry matter determination. Crop growth rate was then estimated. Dry matter yields were 5.29 and 6.31 tha-1yr-1 on the clayey and sandy soils respectively, averaging 5.87 t ha-1yr-1 for the Winneba plains. The respective crop growth rates on the clayey and sandy soils were 1.935 and 2.236 g m-3 day-1 between April and August, 0.867 and 1.0779 g m-2 day-1 between September and February and 0.296 and 0.742 g m-2 day-1 respectively in March. Carrying capacity may probably be in the range of 2.18 and 3.86 ha AU-1 per annum.


(Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science, 1996, 29(2): 9-14)