EVALUATION OF NATIVE AND NATURALIZED FORAGE PLANTS IN THE ITAJAI VALLEY, STATE OF SANTA-CATARINA, BRAZIL

Thirty-eight accessions of forage grasses, mainly Paspalum and Axonopus, as well as perennial peanut (Arachis sp), were evaluated in two experiments. Most accessions were collected in antive grasslands in the region; cultivated types were also included to provide means of comparison. The plot size was 2.0 m x 8.0 m; half of each plot (2.0 m x 4.0 m) was fertilized. Forage was harvested every 35 days. Before the cuts, evaluation of phenology and soil cover was made. Plant material was dried at 65-degrees-C for 72 hours. Dry matter (DM) production was pooled over season of year, and analyzed by ANOVA, Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis. DM production varied from 1.98 t DM/ha/year to 11. 96 t DM/ha/year. There was high response to fertilizer application. Most of the accessions concentrated DM production during Summer months. The following accessions were th most indicated for the region: Arachis repens 010; Axonopus obtusifolius 140 e 153; Axonopus sp., ''grama missioneira gigante'' 149; Axonopus sp., grama missioneira roxa 201; Brachiaria dictioneura 131; B. humidicola cv. Pangola; Paspalum notatum 199; and P. saurae cv. Pensacola.