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Graminae
Synonyms
Latipes senegalensis Kunth.
Common names
Hook grass (Kenya), tougourit (Mauritania).
Description
Tufted short-lived annual grass 15-60 cm high. Inflorescence
spikelet up to 18 cm long with very characteristic warted spikelets 3-4
mm long. The raceme terminates in a curved point and has two spikelets,
each with a single caryopsis.
Distribution
North Africa extending to Kenya, common in arid Sudan.
Season of growth
Summer.
Altitude range
Sea-level to 2 000 m.
Rainfall requirements
It is common in the 300-400 mm zone in Kordofan Province, the
Sudan, and throughout the Sahel.
Drought tolerance
Excellent, but being an annual it can only hay off when it
matures at the end of the rains. It seeds heavily and this replenishes
the pasture.
Soil requirements
It is usually found on sandy desert soils.
Land preparation for establishment
It will establish on bare ground in sandy soils.
Sowing methods
Broadcast the seed on sandy soil.
Sowing time and rate
Early wet season at 3.5 kg/ha.
Number of seeds per kg.
352 000 short racemes of two spikelets, each with one caryopsis
(Bogdan & Pratt, 1967).
Vigour of growth and growth
rhythm
In the Sahel it flowers from August to February and is in full
vegetative stage in June (Boudet & Duverger, 1961).
Feeding value
It maintains its palatability right through the dry season
in the Sahel (Boudet & Duverger, 1961).
Frost tolerance
It will not tolerate frost.
Natural habitat
Sandy, arid soils in open bush and grassland.
Seed production and harvesting
It seeds well. The seed is in the form of a short raceme of
the panicle, which at maturity can be easily stripped.
Economics
A valuable grass for arid climates.
Animal production
Its value is limited by its small size and fibrous, stemmy
herbage of rather low protein content (Bogdan & Pratt, 1967) but it
is palatable and a valuable food for camels in the arid areas.
Further reading
Bogdan & Pratt, 1967; Boudet & Duverger, 1961.
Value for erosion control
It is an efficient colonizer of bare ground and was used in
reseeding the Mivea area of Embu and Baringo, Kenya (Bogdan & Pratt,
1967).
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