Elephant grass as forage for ruminant animals

The shortage of feed, particularly during the dry season is one of the major factor limiting productivity of livestock in the tropics. Napier or elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) shows a great potential to alleviate the problem because it is drought resistant and has high dry matter yield potential. As an attempt to generate information useful for improving the utilization of the grass, its potential and limitation are described. Its chemical composition and nutritive value as related to management and animal???s requirement are reviewed. Possible solutions to increase animal production from low quality elephant grass were also discussed