Download SHW 3002 ANIMAL AGRICULTURE

AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT
SEMESTER 2 2015/2016
Practical 1: 5 March 2016
Morphology of Grasses and Legumes
Objective:
To identify morphological characteristics of the Poaceae (Grass) and the
Leguminoseae (legume) plant families. These are the plant families to which
pastures and forages belong to.
Poaceae:
This is the plant family of high economic importance as the major foods such as rice,
maize, wheat, barley, sugar-cane and pasture grasses are members of this family.
They are monocotyledonous, herbaceous and low growing. They have fibrous roots
and the leaves are comprised of leaf sheath and leaf blade. They spread by producing
tillers, stolons or rhizomes. The reproductive organs are borne in an inflorescence and
are comprised of spikelets with one or more florets.
Leguminoseae:
Plants in this family have the ability of fixing nitrogen from the air because of the
symbiotic association with rhizobium that lives in root nodules. As such the legumes
is an important source of plant protein. The flowers are colourful and the seeds are
borne in a pod or legume. The leaves are usually compound, bearing a number of
leaflets. They are dicotyledonous and have a tap-root system.
Practical:
a) You have three grass specimens:
Common Name
Botanical name
Growth habit
Guinea grass: Rumput kuda
Panicum maximum
Upright, tufted
Cow grass; Rumput kerbau
Paspalum conjugatum
stoloniferous
Lalang
Imperata cylindrica
rhizomatous
Make a sketch of each of the specimen to show the various plant parts. All figures
must show the following labels:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
leaf blade
leaf sheath
stem
nodes
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v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
inflorescence
fibrous roots
tillers
stolons (for cow grass only)
rhizomes (for lalang only)
b) You have 2 legume specimens:
Common Name
Botanical name
Growth habit
Calapo
Calapogonimum
mucunoides
Gliricidia sepium
Climbing, trailing
Gliricidia
tree
Make a sketch of each of the specimen to show the various plant parts. All figures
must show the following labels:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
leaflets
leaf
petiole
stipule
tap root
branch roots
nodules (where present)
pods
c) Make a table and list the differences you observed between the morphology of
grasses and legumes.
Plant parts
Leaf
Grasses
Legumes
stem
roots
flowers
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