The new grass, brachiaria is helping Dairy farmers overcome fodder crises caused by over-reliance on napier grass. Research shows that the grass is highly drought torelant and grows in major agroecological zones in Eastern Africa.
Varieties
Mulato and Mulato II
Other cultivars include Murandu and MG4
NB: Mulatto II is adapted to most agro-ecological zones
Ecological requirements
Rainfall: At least 700mm annually. The grass responds well under irrigation in arid and semi-arid areas and under rain fed conditions wet areas.
Altitude: Above 1800m above sea level
Temperature: 19-300C
Soils: Well drained soils with medium fertility and PH ranging from 5-8.
Propagation
The grass is propagated either through seeds or vegetative materials (root splits and stem cuttings).
Seedbed preparation
Plough the land early before the rains. Harrow the seedbed to fine tilth and add well decomposed organic manure at a rate of 4 tons per acre. Add 100kg TSP fertilizer incase the soil has phosphorus deficiency.
Planting
Ensure that planting coincide with the rains for easy grass establishment.
Planting from seeds: Make small furrows on the nursery 1-2cm deep and sow seeds. Cover the seeds lightly with soil and then mulch using dry grass. Transplant seedlings 6-8 weeks after sowing.
Alternatively direct seeding can be done, make furrows 2cm deep in the main seedbed then drill seeds in the furrows and cover lightly with soil. Mulch using dry grass to conserve soil moisture for easy grass establishment.
Seed range ranges from 2.5kgs to 3kgs per acre.
Planting from root splits and stem cuttings: Obtain root or stem cuttings from healthy and mature mother plants, plant the materials on each hill at a spacing of 25cm by 50cm. One acre will require roughly 32000 splits.
You can buy bracharia seeds from Amiran Kenya or Kenya Agriculture Research and Livestock organization (KARLO)
Fertilization
Fertilizer and manure application depend on pasture production system used. Grass grown under cut and carry production system will require fertilizer and manure application as pasture under this system removes most of plant nutrients from the soil.
Under such pasture production system add 4 tones of manure and 80kg CAN per acre to improve pasture production, quality and quantity
Weed management
Remove all weeds from the pasture field especially during early stages of pasture establishment. Achieve this through manual weeding through light tillage.
Pest management
Red spider mite and Shoot borers are the main pests though hardly do they compromise pasture yield.
Disease management
Smut, Ergot, Rust and Leaf spots are the main diseases but the grass tolerates attack.
Harvesting
Harvest the grass 4-5 months after planting. Cut the grass 5cm above the ground. Re-harvest the pasture grass in 8-12 weeks depending on soil moisture status and soil fertility. The grass can remain productive for 20 years under better pasture stand management.
Pasture conservation
Conserved as hay or silage.
41 comments
Hi, for all that are interested in establishing Brachiaria Grass kindly get in touch with me on +254722722189. Am selling planting splits in Gakindu, Nyeri and Nairobi. Am also delivering all over East Africa.
How much is bracharia Mulato and Mulato II and seedlings quote the price and place?
1 kg goes for 3500. You can buy from Karlo +254 722206986/722206988 or Amiran contacts 0800720720.
Your Commenthi.. hi… a hay of brachiaria goes for how much.. and where can I sell it after planting. ?
Hi Benedicta, the market prices for a bale of quality hay ranges from 150-250 but you should also factor in your production costs. Brachiaria is quite new in the market and very few farmers are baling it
Your Comme
where can you get seeds or slits of
the following brachiaria grasses :MG4, marandu and mulatto 1 and 2?
Dear Antonny, you can buy from KARLO Naivasha or Amiran Kenya
Brachiaria High protein Grass seeds for all varieties available at Marchlyn Green Forest Farm contact Martin on 0719545244.
Hi , where can get brachiaria seeds and how many bales can I harvest in one acre in western Kenya. Thanks
Bracharia yield estimates at 20tonnes per acre equivalent to 1250bales of 16kg weight
Hi Abraham, Bracharia yield estimates at 20tonnes per acre equivalent to 1250bales of 16kg weight. you can harvest the crop for 6 years of high productivity after the first planting. We sell the seeds at Advantage crops limited and offer free delivery. You are lucky because I am in western Kenya and will take you through the production process; even up to hay making. At advantage crops, we ensure that you get the right yield.
contact me; Jabuto on 0723375091 to get your first delivery of the seeds and start feeding your livestock on the best forage
My company in Thailand, Ubon Forage Seeds ( https://www.ubonforageseeds.com/en/) produces Mulato II hybrid brachiaria seed. Some of this seed is exported to Kenya every year.
The name brachiaria grass is very confusing. This name seems to be used as the same name for several cultivars of brachiaria cultivars. It is better to use the proper cultivar name. Piata brachiaria brizantha, Mulato II hybrid brachiaria and so on.
Mulato II seed is only produced in three areas in the world. Thailand, Mexico and Brazil.
I have read that in Kenya Mulato II is being sold as a F1 hybrid. This is false information. It is a hybrid (three way cross) but it is not a F1 hybrid.
Brachiaria is a common name for many different cultivars of brachiaria. It is very confusing. It seems that only in Kenya this brachiaria nanme is used. Most other countries refer directly to the cultivat name. Seed is therefore sold as Mulato II or Piata and so on.
Mulato II is a hybrid three way cross. (Mulato was taken off the market 20 years ago due to poor seed yields). Most of the Mulato iI seed sold in Kenya comes from my company in Thailand, Ubon Forage Seeds.
https://www.ubonforageseeds.com/en/
Piata is a Brachiaria brizantha. Seed is produced in Brazil. Xaraes (or Toledo) is also a brizantha but has very sharp leaves which can cut hands when hand cutting. Seed is produced in Brazil.
What I am saying is that all these brachiaria grasses being promoted in Kenya are very different to one another. Different in quality, production, drought tolerance, waterlogging tolerance.
I read that Mulato II is being sold in Kenya as a F1 hybrid. This is not true. It is not a F1 hybrid.
As the producer of the Mulato iI seed being sold in Kenya, I am pleased that the farmers there are finding it a productive plant. wE at ubon Forage Seeds (https://www.ubonforageseeds.com/en/), have been sellin Mulato II seeds to kenya for over five years. of concern to me is the extemely high prices seed is being sold for in kenya and calling it a F1 hybrid. Mulatro II is a three way cross between ruzi grass, marandu brizantha and signal grass. It is not a F1 hybrid. it also does not have 98% germination. the highest gdermination is about 80-85%.
As the producer of the Mulato II seed being sold in Kenya, I am pleased that the farmers there are finding it a productive plant. We at Ubon Forage Seeds (https://www.ubonforageseeds.com/en/), have been selling Mulato II seeds to Kenya for over five years. of concern to me is the extremely high prices seed is being sold for in Kenya and calling it a F1 hybrid. Mulato II is a three way cross between ruzi grass, Marandu brizantha and signal grass. It is not a F1 hybrid. It also does not have 98% germination. The highest germination is about 80-85%.
Thanks for that clarification
Just planted mulato ii seeds at Ngong
Hope I won’t be dissapointed
Hello Hellon,
I hope you got an up-to-date germination certificate. Do not trust the germinations printed on the tin can.
am in meru. where can I get the planting material?
Hello, Ntwigah,
We at advantage crops sell Brachiaria seeds – Mullato II, Cayman, and Cobra – and deliver all around the country free. we go further to give you agronomy advice on the establishment and management of the crop. We also help farmers who make hay from the crop get better results. We have a complete guide of its production and hay making to take you through. contact me, Jabuto on 0723375091 so that you can get your first Brachiaria seeds and superior crops for better livestock results
Hi Michail. Do you have an agent in Kenya.
Samson
Hello,
Can you please give me some guideline on how to plant the Mulato II seeds ? Is it one seed in a hole or just spread them on top of the soil ?
Planting from seeds: Make small furrows on the nursery 1-2cm deep and sow seeds. Cover the seeds lightly with soil and then mulch using dry grass. Transplant seedlings 6-8 weeks after sowing.
read this planting guide http://www.farmlinkkenya.com/brachiariawondermulato-grass-production-guide/
Thank you so much for your response!! Do you have a link to the process of storing it as Hay ? And for how long can you store it for.
Contact Devan
Devan Khagram
LUCSOM SERVICES LIMITED
P.O. BOX 2101-00606
SARIT CENTRE, NAIROBI
KENYA
Tel +254722207090
Email devan.khagram@lucsom.com
I am based in Uganda where I intend to plant 10acres of brocharia molato pastures. Where can I get the seeds, at how much per kilogram and how many do I need for the 10 acres.
Grateful
Kumanya
I bought 50g of Mulato II from Simlaw seeds, I will try and make a giant out of the sachet
Hello
I’m a grass grower
Let me to ask an question
How to control weed in Mulato2 grass field
Which type of herbicide can I use?
Best way is to cultivate after cutting, for herbicide use SERVIAN® 75WG from Syngenta Ltd
Iam a small scale farmer who have started with brochiaria mulato II highbreed,kindly furnish me with more information In how to use the pasture and conservation.though I have not get the required dairy cows.
Dear Mark contact us on 0728082887 for more details
am eunice i have planted my seeds for mullato 2 grass and have germinated excellently
Good afternoon,
Am yet to plant mulato 11 grass in Kajiado
kindly furnish me with the information on how, I will get the seeds for planting,
process of planting and weeding and conservation.
I would also like to know what is the difference between Mullato 11 and Bracharia grass
Kind Regards.
I bought a sample packet of Bracharia Mulatato II at the Nairobi show and planted it as suggested and nothing as happened to date. I am glad I bought a small packet of 250gm to try. I am not giving up though.Hopefully I will be successful next time as I intend to plant at least 1 acre of it eventually before I buy any cow/s.
How long does the seed take to germinate?
Pls what is the seed rate per hectare for Bracheria and what is the yield per hectare?
Good evening,
I need one kg seefs each of Brachiaria and Napier grass lines. Thanks
Good evening,
I need one kg seeds each of Brachiaria and Napier grass lines. Thanks
HI am joseph,i harvested bracharia mulato 2 and the respose has been slow..how can i improve on its growth?….
secondly i have used both the seeds and splits when growing the bracharia n i got better response from the seeds than the splits.the splits tend to wither n die..plus seeds are way cheaper….
Can mulatto 11 do well in kitui I need to establish at least one acre plot for my daily cows
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about
this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with a few pics
to drive the message home a bit, but instead of that, this is fantastic blog.
A great read. I will certainly be back.
Bedford Mwiki- Chogoria. I’ve raised mulato in a seedbed which has germinated very well. I hope I will get good results has I work at home. I thank God for this discovery