Broadleaf setaria, splendida setaria, giant setaria [English]; sétaire géante, queue de chien [French]; cỏ đuôi chó, co ro'om [Vietnamese]
- Var. splendida : broadleaf setaria, splendida setaria, sekoi, bunga bunga, ya taiwan, queue de chien, golden timothy
Setaria splendida Stapf (USDA, 2009)
The giant setaria (Setaria sphacelata (Schum.) Stapf & Hubb var. splendida (Stapf)) is a tall tropical grass widespread in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Australia and Asia. It is highly palatable, and used for pasture and cut-and-carry.
Morphology
The giant setaria is a perennial tussock grass up to 3 m high. Culms are robust and flattened at the base. Leaves are grey-green, reddish under dry conditions, blade-shaped, up to 80 cm long and 2 cm broad. Inflorescence is a spike-like panicle ranging from 10 cm to 50 cm long. Fruits are caryopses but the giant setaria has a low seed production and its main way of propagation is vegetative.
Utilisation
The giant setaria is mainly used as fodder. Its grains are useful famine food in periods of scarcity in Africa (Brink, 2006).
The giant setaria is native to Africa and is now widespread in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Australia and Asia (mostly Indonesia and Malaysia). It thrives in areas where annual rainfall is greater than 1000 mm. However, it can survive long dry seasons and also withstands flooding. It is fairly tolerant of low temperatures and may be cultivated at high altitudes in Kenya and Uganda. It prefers moist soils, even at low fertility levels, and can be intercropped with legumes provided that the soil contains adequate P and K (Hacker, 1992).
Annual yields reported range from 4 t DM/ha to 31 t DM/ha (Cook et al., 2005; Hacker, 1992).
Setaria is a strong competitor for minerals (K particularly). Growing it with other grasses or legumes should be avoided if the soil is short of P and K. It is considered as a weed in the USA and Canada where it competes strongly with soya and maize, causing up to 81% losses in soya and 40% in maize (Weill, 2007). In the Philippines, Setaria sphacelata is used in order to prevent soil erosion on hillslopes as a hedgerow species in alley cropping systems (Exconde, 2000).
Oxalates
The giant setaria contains high amounts of oxalates (4 to 6.7% DM) after a regrowth period of 3 weeks (FAO, 2009; Jones et al., 1972). Oxalates are deleterious to horses as they cause the "big-head" disease (Osteodystrophia fibrosa).
In dairy cows, oxalic acid conjugates with Ca, thus reducing Ca concentration in the blood and causing milk fever (hypocalcemia). It is also reported to cause hypomagnesemia. Both problems can be treated by combining treatment with calcium borogluconate and magnesium hypophosphite. When Setaria is progressively included in the diet, cattle develops an ad hoc rumen flora that detoxifies oxalates (Cook et al., 2005).
The giant setaria is highly palatable to all classes of livestock and is mainly used as forage. It may be grazed or used in a cut-and-carry system. It can withstand heavy and continuous grazing, up to 6 steers/ha in subtropical Australia, if adequate fertilizer is applied. It can also be used for hay or silage (Cook et al., 2005).
The giant setaria can support around 820 kg body weight gain in steers/ha/year even at high stocking rates (in Queensland, 4-6 steers/ha or 7 steers/ha during spring and summer, then 3-5 steers/ha before winter) (Evans et al., 1992; Jones et al., 1989). A 50:50 leucaena/setaria-based diet was supplemented with 100 g molasses/kg diet and resulted in a higher live-weight gain in young bulls (Huque et al., 1995).
Giant setaria should not be fed to horses due to its high oxalate content (see Potential constraints).
Avg: average or predicted value; SD: standard deviation; Min: minimum value; Max: maximum value; Nb: number of values (samples) used
| Main analysis | Unit | Avg | SD | Min | Max | Nb | |
| Dry matter | % as fed | 22.2 | 6.0 | 13.7 | 32.4 | 11 | |
| Crude protein | % DM | 9.1 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 16.9 | 19 | |
| Crude fibre | % DM | 34.3 | 5.4 | 22.6 | 45.2 | 16 | |
| NDF | % DM | 69.5 | * | ||||
| ADF | % DM | 40.0 | 28.5 | 45.1 | 2 | * | |
| Lignin | % DM | 5.4 | * | ||||
| Ether extract | % DM | 2.4 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 3.5 | 14 | |
| Ash | % DM | 11.1 | 2.7 | 7.4 | 15.3 | 15 | |
| Gross energy | MJ/kg DM | 17.8 | * | ||||
| Minerals | Unit | Avg | SD | Min | Max | Nb | |
| Calcium | g/kg DM | 2.4 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 4.7 | 11 | |
| Phosphorus | g/kg DM | 1.9 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 6.0 | 11 | |
| Potassium | g/kg DM | 15.8 | 16.3 | 0.6 | 36.0 | 9 | |
| Sodium | g/kg DM | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 6 | |
| Magnesium | g/kg DM | 2.1 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 5.2 | 9 | |
| Ruminant nutritive values | Unit | Avg | SD | Min | Max | Nb | |
| OM digestibility, Ruminant | % | 62.8 | * | ||||
| Energy digestibility, ruminants | % | 60.0 | * | ||||
| DE ruminants | MJ/kg DM | 10.7 | * | ||||
| ME ruminants | MJ/kg DM | 8.6 | * | ||||
| Nitrogen digestibility, ruminants | % | 65.2 | 1 | ||||
| Pig nutritive values | Unit | Avg | SD | Min | Max | Nb | |
| Energy digestibility, growing pig | % | 36.3 | * | ||||
| DE growing pig | MJ/kg DM | 6.5 | * |
The asterisk * indicates that the average value was obtained by an equation.
References
Huque et al., 1995; Kaligis et al., 1990; Niang et al., 1998; Pozy et al., 1996; Scaut, 1959; Shem et al., 1999; Van Rensburg, 1956
Last updated on 24/10/2012 00:43:11
| Main analysis | Unit | Avg | SD | Min | Max | Nb | |
| Crude protein | % DM | 9.9 | 0.0 | 9.9 | 9.9 | 6 | |
| Ash | % DM | 15.3 | 0.0 | 15.3 | 15.3 | 6 | |
| Ruminant nutritive values | Unit | Avg | SD | Min | Max | Nb | |
| OM digestibility, Ruminant | % | 58.6 | 5.3 | 52.0 | 67.3 | 6 | |
| Energy digestibility, ruminants | % | 55.2 | * |
The asterisk * indicates that the average value was obtained by an equation.
References
Last updated on 24/10/2012 00:43:11
Heuzé V., Tran G., 2017. Giant setaria (Setaria sphacelata var. splendida). Feedipedia, a programme by INRAE, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. https://www.feedipedia.org/node/380 Last updated on May 17, 2017, 15:57