Maintenance and harvesting

1. Water immediately after planting.
2. Weed the Napier grass plot regularly.
3. If any of the cuttings die, fill in the gaps with new ones.
4. Harvest the grass when it is 90_120 cm (3_4 feet) high. Harvest the grass following a pattern. Beginning at one end of the row, cut enough grass to feed your animals for 1 day. The next day, cut the next grass along in the row. Carry on until you reach the end of the row. In this way, you will always be able to cut fodder for your livestock.
5. Apply liquid manure by digging trenches in between the rows of grass. Pour liquid manure into the trenches (see the section on Urine_manure slurry as fertilizer for details).
6. If the livestock do not eat all the grass, use the remainder as mulch or compost.

Do's

• Cut the grass 15_25 cm (6_10 inches) above the ground. Some farmers have found it is better to cut at ground level, though this may damage the plant too much.
• Fill in any gaps in the rows with fresh cuttings.

Don'ts

• Don't use older stems as planting materials, as they will not germinate well.
• Don't intercrop with cereals, as the grass will compete with the crop for nutrients and light.
• Don't allow animals to graze on the Napier grass, as they may damage or kill the plants.
• Don't allow the grass to overgrow, as it may become a weed.
• Don't allow the grass to grow too high (more than 120 cm or 4 feet), as livestock will not eat it.