Buffelgrass

This chapter discusses the buffelgrass as a member of the genus Pennisetum; even though most literature reports it as belonging to the genus Cenchrus. Buffelgrass is well adapated to the arid tropical and subtropical areas of Africa, Asia, Australia, and North America. By the mid-1940s, its area of adaptation had been determined in North America, and buffelgrass has now become prominent forage grass south Texas and northern Mexico. Buffelgrass has a base chromosome number of 9 and most reported chromosome numbers are multiples of 9. C. M. Taliaferro and E. C. Bashaw proposed a breeding scheme to improve apomictic buffelgrass. Fertilization of buffelgrass pastures is not a common practice, except whengrown in areas that receive higher rainfall or under irrigation. Mechanization of tropical grass seed production, including buffelgrass, has been greatest in Austraila and in localized regions of the USA.