Search Results (6)

Characterized as one of the most controversial and widely used grasses in various regions, buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare (L.) Link) is considered a significant and problematic invasive exotic species and an adaptable and resilient forage source with relatively high biomass production and resistance to harsh agroecological conditions. Objective: The objective of this documentary research is to present a systematic review of buffelgrass dynamics, focusing on its global management and specifically on the arid regions of Mexico, particularly Sonora. This review highlights its forage potential, invasive capacity, adaptability, and the different scales of its multifactorial relationship within the productive-environmental sphere. Methods: Information on buffelgrass in various regions of the world, with an emphasis on arid regions, was reviewed and summarized. This information was gathered from a selection of 59 articles, considering common aspects such as appropriate methodologies, location within the geographical limits of aridity, and originating from Web of Science repositories. The search criteria included “Pennisetum ciliare and Cenchrus ciliaris”, “invasion”, “livestock”, “forage”, “sustainability”, and “restoration”, among other key concepts, with a timeframe limited to the year 2026. This allowed for the definition of thematic axes for the descriptions presented. Main results: The results highlight various treatments in agriculture and livestock farming, its use in combination with other grasses, and the implementation of adjuvants, which improves its performance. In this regard, its use as a substitute for primary forage with 500 mm of annual irrigation is emphasized, achieving biomass production levels of up to 18.4 t ha⁻¹. Conclusions: Buffelgrass in vulnerable arid territories, such as Sonora, Mexico, could improve soil cover, nutrient content, and biological presence; however, in a state of equilibrium, it can cause alterations that are difficult to reverse and that compromise local ecology and water resources. Full article

This study assessed the effectiveness of four competitive pasture species—Premier digit grass (Digitaria eriantha Steud. var. Premier), Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana Kunth.), sabi grass (Urochloa mosambicensis Hack.), and buffel grass (Pennisetum ciliare L.) against the toxic annual riceflower (Pimelea trichostachya Lindl.) at varying planting densities and ratios. At six plants pot⁻¹, with a 66:33 grass-to-weed ratio, riceflower biomass decreased by 73.7%, 82.5%, 73.7%, and 60.6% when grown alongside Premier digit, Rhodes, sabi, and buffel grasses, respectively. Similarly, with four plants pot⁻¹ at a 75:25 ratio, reductions were 69.1%, 79.8%, 71.0%, and 44.5%, respectively. Annual riceflower experienced the greatest suppression when grown with Rhodes grass, showing aggressivity index (AI) values of −60.2 and −67.2 and relative crowding coefficient (RCC) values of 0.4 for both six and four plants pot⁻¹. Premier digit grass also suppressed riceflower effectively, with riceflower AI values of −35.6 and −36.7 and RCC values of 0.5 and 0.6. Buffel grass had the least impact, with riceflower AI values of −41.1 and −27.9 and RCC values of 0.9 and 2.0. Sabi grass also demonstrated good suppressive effects, though slightly less than the top two species. Higher planting densities generally resulted in stronger riceflower suppression. The results highlight the importance of considering planting density, arrangement, and key plant traits when selecting pasture species for successful weed control. Based on these findings, we conclude that Premier digit grass and Rhodes grass show promising potential for effective suppression of annual riceflower growth. Full article

The objective was to determine the forage production and nutritional quality of six buffel grass ecotypes in vegetative and physiological maturity stages. The experiment was carried out at the Los Cañones Experimental Station in Zacatecas, Mexico. The ecotypes were as follows: E-42, E-45, E-66, E-72, E-S245, and the Titan variety as a control. The experiment design was a completely randomized block with three replications, and the evaluation years were from 2020 to 2022. The variables measured were as follows: plant height (PH), dry matter yield (DMY), leaf (Lf) and stem-inflorescence (St), crude protein (CP), neutral (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF). Pearson’s correlation and a combined analysis of variance were performed for each growth stage. A correlation analysis showed significant relationships (p < 0.05) between variables. In the vegetative stage, ecotypes E-42, E-45, and E-S45 showed accumulations of over 12% of CP, which were higher (p < 0.05) than the ones for Titan. Low values of E-S245 (p < 0.05) for NDF (63.44%) and ADF (44.49%) stood out among all ecotypes. In the maturity stage, Titan was surpassed by E-45 and E-S245 with CP higher than 4%. The neutral and acid fibers in E-42, E-45, and E-S245 were less than in Titan (p < 0.05). Ecotypes E-42 and E-S245 are alternatives to improve feed efficiency in the dry subtropical climate of Zacatecas. Full article

The development of modern genomic tools has helped accelerate genetic gains in the breeding program of food crops. More recently, genomic resources have been developed for tropical forages, providing key resources for developing new climate-resilient high-yielding forage varieties. In this study, we present a genome-wide association study for biomass yield and feed quality traits in buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L. aka Pennisetum ciliare L.). Genome-wide markers, generated using the DArTSeq platform and mapped onto the Setaria italica reference genome, were used for the genome-wide association study. The results revealed several markers associated with biomass yield and feed quality traits. A total of 78 marker–trait associations were identified with R² values ranging from 0.138 to 0.236. The marker–trait associations were distributed across different chromosomes. Of these associations, the most marker–trait associations (23) were observed on Chr9, followed by Chr5 with 12. The fewest number of marker–trait associations were observed on Chr4 with 2. In terms of traits, 17 markers were associated with biomass yield, 24 with crude protein, 26 with TDN, 14 with ADF, 10 with NDF and 6 with DMI. A total of 20 of the identified markers were associated with at least two traits. The identified marker–trait associations provide a useful genomic resource for the future improvement and breeding of buffel grass. Full article

The increasing spread and abundance of an invasive perennial grass, buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare), represents a critical threat to the native vegetation communities of the Sonoran desert in southern Arizona, USA, where buffelgrass eradication is a high priority for resource managers. Herbicidal treatment of buffelgrass is most effective when the vegetation is actively growing, but the remoteness of infestations and the erratic timing and length of the species’ growth periods confound effective treatment. The goal of our research is to promote buffelgrass management by using remote sensing data to detect where the invasive plants are located and when they are photosynthetically active. We integrated citizen scientist observations of buffelgrass phenology in the Tucson, Arizona area with PRISM precipitation data, eight-day composites of 250-m Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery, and aerially-mapped polygons of buffelgrass presence to understand dynamics and relationships between precipitation and the timing and amount of buffelgrass greenness from 2011 to 2013. Our results show that buffelgrass responds quickly to antecedent rainfall: in pixels containing buffelgrass, higher correlations (R² > 0.5) typically occur after two cumulative eight-day periods of rain, whereas in pixels dominated by native vegetation, four prior 8-day periods are required to reach that threshold. Using the new suite of phenometrics introduced here—Climate Landscape Response metrics—we accurately predicted the location of 49% to 55% of buffelgrass patches in Saguaro National Park. These metrics and the suggested guidelines for their use can be employed by resource managers to treat buffelgrass during optimal time periods. Full article

Invasive species’ phenologies often contrast with those of native species, representing opportunities for detection of invasive species with multi-temporal remote sensing. Detection is especially critical for ecosystem-transforming species that facilitate changes in disturbance regimes. The African C₄ grass, Pennisetum ciliare, is transforming ecosystems on three continents and a number of neotropical islands by introducing a grass-fire cycle. However, previous attempts at discriminating P. ciliare in North America using multi-spectral imagery have been unsuccessful. In this paper, we integrate field measurements of hyperspectral plant species signatures and canopy cover with multi-temporal spectral analysis to identify opportunities for detection using moderate-resolution multi-spectral imagery. By applying these results to Landsat TM imagery, we show that multi-spectral discrimination of P. ciliare in heterogeneous mixed desert scrub is feasible, but only at high abundance levels that may have limited value to land managers seeking to control invasion. Much higher discriminability is possible with hyperspectral shortwave infrared imagery because of differences in non-photosynthetic vegetation in uninvaded and invaded landscapes during dormant seasons but these spectra are unavailable in multispectral sensors. Therefore, we recommend hyperspectral imagery for distinguishing invasive grass-dominated landscapes from uninvaded desert scrub. Full article