Fenología, producción y valor nutritivo del pasto alpiste (phalaris arundinacea) en la zona alta lechera de Costa Rica

dry matter yield, nutritional value and phenology of reed canary grass (phalaris arundinacea) were evaluated with three harvest ages (49, 70 and 91 days), during a year and a half, in a commercial dairy farm in the district of santa rosa de oreamuno, cartago province. average dry-matter yield was 3101 kg.ha-1.regrowth-1 period. average nutritional value was 17.77% cp, 55.89% ndf, 35.93% adf, 4.14% lignin and 66.87% ivdmd on dry-matter basis. estimated energy content expressed as tdn, de, me, nel (3x) and neg was 63.07%, 2.76, 2.13, 1.31 and 0.81 mcal.kg-1 of dm, respectively. cp fractioning of african star grass (cynodon nlemfuensis) and perennial ryegrass (lolium perenne), were compared with that of reed canary grass; the main contribution was obtained from the insoluble degradable fraction (b2+b3) in the temperate species, while african star grass had a higher contribution from the degradable fraction (a+b1). average phenological stage of reed canary grass was 5.96 green leaves per regrowth and its leaf stage must be 5 to 6 leaves to optimize dry matter yield and nutritional value. reed canary grass has been used in several dairy farms and has gained importance as an option that can withstand the weather conditions in the highlands of costa rica; olso, there are already companies importing sexual seed of this species