Seguí-Cruz, Jesús J.

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    Competencia inter-específica entre el pasto invasor Paspalum fasciculatum y cuatro especies de gramínea comúnmente utilizadas en sistemas de pastoreo en Puerto Rico
    (2018) Seguí-Cruz, Jesús J.; Robles-Vázquez, Wilfredo; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Acosta-Martínez, Jaime; Vélez-Gavilán, Jeanine; Macchiavelli, Raúl; Department of Biology; Zapata-Medina, Rocío
    Grasses play an important role in the proper functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, as well as worldwide economic systems. Within these systems, the production of high quality forages for the nourishment and support of livestock is of great importance. It is because of this that the species of grass chosen for foraging is of the best available quality possible. Paspalum fasciculatum, better known as Venezuela grass or Mexican crowngrass is a perennial grass considered an invasive, undesirable grass species for forage production. In contrast, perennial grasses of good foraging quality, such as those found within the genera Urochloa and Chloris, are commonly used to produce high quality forages and hay. These latter species possess adaptations that could help them compete against Venezuela grass. The purpose of this study is to evaluate interspecific competition between Venezuela grass and four species of grasses commonly used for hay production and foraging in Puerto Rico. To assess this, we established two experiments in the Experimental Agricultural Station of Isabela, in Puerto Rico. For the first experiment, we evaluated which of four grasses, Urochloa brizantha cv Piatã, Urochloa decumbens, Urochloa hybrid “Cayman” and Chloris gayana, would compete better against Venezuela grass. We evaluated nine treatments, of which five of the treatments were monocultures of Venezuela grass, U. brizantha cv Piatã, U. decumbens, Urochloa hybrid “Cayman” and C. gayana, while the other four treatments were a mixed crop composed of one of the four forage grasses and Venezuela grass. For the second experiment, we selected the best competing grass from the results of the first experiment and planted it with Venezuela grass in five different treatments of varying proportions of plants. Of the four grasses we evaluated, C. gayana demonstrated greater competitive inhibition and physical displacement when planted together with Venezuela grass. This effect was observed for both experiments. Factors such as rapid growth rate, abundant production of stolons and biomass were beneficial for its competitive inhibition of Venezuela grass. We recommend that for areas invaded by Venezuela grass, a treatment considering both the removal of the plant and its replacement with a species of grass with potential benefits, such as high biomass production or erosion control, be used to reduce the chances of future colonization of Venezuela grass on previously invaded plots.