Hello all,
I’m doing agricultural development work in rural Haiti and looking for a source of dwarf Napier grass. We have two cultivars of Napier grass available locally but the farmers here are hesitant to use it as it affects the growth of nearby plants (presumably because of its long lateral roots). I’ve read in “Restoring the Soil” that dwarf Napier is a better cultivar for the purpose of soil retention on hillsides, which is a desperate need here as in the area we live easily 10% of children die in childhood, many of them from complications of malnutrition. Much of the malnutrition is likely a result of poor agricultural practices and degraded soil here.
I can import it from the US fairly easily if anyone knows a source there.
thanks,
Joel
“… Napier grass can be more
commonly distributed by vegetative cuttings and tillers [6], since the grass cannot produce many
seeds and those that are produced are normally very small, light, of poor quality and the spikelets
are prone to shattering [6,14]. Consequently, the seeds are considered inappropriate for propagation
as they produce weak seedlings and, as Napier grass is an open pollinated crop, the seedlings are
also highly heterozygous [6,14]. Therefore, propagation by stem cuttings is currently the dominant
practice for the distribution of Napier grass propagules [6,15].”
[Dec 13, 2017]
“What we sell is dwarf elephant grass. The tortoises like eating it better than the regular and it does not grow out of control like the tall stuff. It doesn’t not survive well in areas which receive freezing temperatures.
We are currently sold out of plants we can ship to CA, AZ, LA, and TX - but will be sterile propagating more soon. It doesn’t grow well from seed for us, so we only sell sterile propagated plants to the states mentioned above or root divisions to other states.
sulcatafood.com”
Is Dwarf Napier Grass local to Haiti? We have a publication for Haiti that might be of interest and help to you; it lists local food plants that are known to grow in Haiti. Food Plant Solutions | Solutions to Malnutrition and Food Security
Hi Robert, thanks for the pointer to that website. I hadn’t seen tgat one. Joel
Hi Karalyn, I’m not sure but I don’t think Napier grass is native to Haiti. I think it was first found in Asia.
Joel
I am happy to send you some this fall if you provide me with an address. As I imagine you already know, you plant and propagate it like sugar cane, and have to be concerned about it as a potential weed and harbor for pests and disease for other grass crops in particular, since it can look similar and the same herbicides kill both. But once established it does make an excellent high quality forage if not overgrazed. I am in the middle of an ongoing family emergency, so please keep trying until you get a hold of me. jrancken@yahoo.com
PS: Napier / elephant grass is native to Africa, but it is widely used as a forage and biomass in the humid tropics world wide. It is fast growing, and in the tropics and subtropics where it can actually set seed it is important to pay attention to spread because the seeds are tiny and can disperse on the wind. But it is very good for helping reclaim degraded land, and is one of the relatively few options to provide high quality forage and help with the problems of severe protein malnutrition somewhere like Haiti.
The specific variety I am offering was developed as a forage by the University of Florida.