CARACTERES MORFOFISIOLÓGICOS DE CLONES DE CAPIM ELEFANTE (Pennisetum purpureum, SCHUM.) AVALIADOS SOB PASTEJO INTENSIVO NA ZONA-

This work aimed to evaluate morphophysiological traits of elephant-grass clones for grazing utilization in the Pernambuco's forest zone. It was evaluated 15 elephant-grass'clones and one elephant-grass x Pearl Millet (Pennisetum americanum, (L.) Leeke) hibrid, under grazing conditions. A randomized blocks design with 16 treatments and four replications was used. It was used small plots, with the presence of the animals to simulate the grazing effects over the treatments. It was evaluated the flowering, basal and aerial tillering, plant height, apical meristematic tissue height, and leaf/stem ratio. The "Pioneiro" clone was the most precocious material, becoming the unique flowered clone at the 60 days of growth, after the cut of uniformization. The cultivars "Tres Rios" and "IAC" showed high basal tillering rate and soil coverage. The clones "CE-08-AD" and "Hexaploide" showed high aerial tillering rate. Significant differences (P<0,05) were found to aerial tiller mortality and to plant height. The "CE-08-AD" and "Venezuela" clones presented the best performance considering the majority of evaluated parameters. So, they are promissing materials to be used under grazing conditions in the Pernambuco's forest zone.