The aim of this work was to study the effect of different irrigation frequencies and levels on dry matter (DM) yield of Panicum maximum Jacq. cv. Tanzania. The experiment was carried out under greenhouse conditions, where drums were filled out with soil and cultivated with tanzania grass. The irrigations were performed with a frequency of 1, 4 and 7 days, in order to re-establish soil water content to 50, 75 and 100% of the total available water in the soil. The crop evapotranspiration (ETc) was obtained by means of four drainage lysimeters. The yield of DM was obtained by means of the material pre-dried in ventilated stoves at 65ºC, for 72 h, and dried definitively in stoves at 105ºC, for 24 h. The smallest DM yield (73.1 g vessel-1) was obtained for total available water in the soil of 50% and 7-day irrigation frequency. The highest DM yield (129.5 g vessel-1) was obtained for total available water of 100% and 1-day irrigation frequency. The authors concluded that the DM yield increases with the increasing of percentage of total available water and decreasing of irrigation frequency.
irrigation; water consumption; Panicum maximum; dry matter