Kikuyu, love/hate relationship. In more temperate climate like ours kikuyu
is well established and difficult to eradicate. It seems like every region
of the world that has it has developed a way to cope with it and make it
produce. Certainly Murray's wealth of knowledge has helped me a lot, but
still we haven't gone as far a using a mulcher. In some farms horses and dry
cows do the job by keeping the mat down to where the ryegrass can compete
with it. We get occasional frosts that retard kikuyu growth and allow other
grasses to poke out. Good soil fertility is a must.
Although a different approach, Colombians love kikuyu and let it get very
tall and graze milk cows on the upper 1/3, then dry cows and maybe bring it
down with horses. Long rotation intervals, moist conditions, and lots of
nitrogen applied are needed in this system.
Being a subtropical grass it will not survive freezing conditions for very
long. If you don't have it, definitely don't bring it in! There is a pest in
areas of Ecuador at around 1000-1200m that will decimate kikuyu pastures.
Liliana Sotomayor, DVM
Quito, Ecuador
>Kikuyu is listed as a noxious weed for many states. So check before
deciding to try to plant it in your area.
--
Oogie McGuire - oogiem@desertweyr.com
Weyr Associates - Multimedia and Web Authoring Services & Consulting
Desert Weyr - CMK Arabian horses and Black Welsh Mountain Sheep
http://www.desertweyr.com/
Paonia, CO USA
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