Resumo

PILCO TININI, Susy Rebeca  e  PEREZ LIMACHE, Carlos. Analysis of the growth of Maralfalfa grass (Pennisetum sp.) In a températe environment in the central highlands of Bolivia. Apthapi [online]. 2017, vol.3, n.3, pp. 620-633. ISSN 0102-0304.

In South America, few countries are involved in the production of maralfalfa grass (Pennisetum sp.), With Colombia being considered the best producer. In countries where maralfalfa grass is produced, it is considered as an alternative solution to forage production requirements, because of its high yield per hectare, allowing the small farmer to improve and increase his milk and meat production, improving his economic income. In our country there is not much information of this species because it is a relatively new pasture and of recent introduction in the Orient and the Valleys, worse still in the altiplano where the existence of information is nuil. The advantages of this pasture motivated the researcher teachers of the Experimental Station of Choquenaira dependent of the Faculty of Agronomy of the UMSA, to begin with preliminary tests on the adaptability and the behavior of this species in a températe environment, in the central highlands of our country. Although the planting of the stems took place at the end of March of 2016; the observations and measurements of the test were carried out from August 2016 to July 2017, being determined thatthe temperature isa determining factor for the development of this species, causing severe damagesto average temperatures of-3 ° Cand the death of the plant at -4.4 ° C. The intense and strong cold led to the death of 98.01% of the plants in July. An optimum time for the máximum catch of the plants was the month of November with 36 plants arrested; this number of live plants remained stable until the month of June. It was observed that this grass have good generating capacity of tillers, having up to a máximum of 14 tillers per plant. It was also observed that the plants observed in this evaluation period reached up to a máximum of 2.10 mts. of height. Six months after planting, the plants surpassed a height of 0.50 m. and at 10 months the 1 m. with averages above 153.5 cm high. Regarding the stem diameter in the eighth month, the plant had an average of 2 cm; staying with that average until the end of the evaluation. However, they did not reach the end of the investigation. It is assumed that it did not reach its full maturity because the temperatures were low and did not allow lengthening the internodes of the stem. In addition, because the few plants that survived until that moment, they still emitted little sprouts.

Palavras-chave : Maralfalfa; highlands; Behavior of the maralfalfa; environment temperade.