Three range grass species namely, Chlysopogon plumulosus Hochst, Bothriochloa radicansrn(Lehm.) A. Camus and Ischaemum afrum (J.F. Gemel.) Dandy were studied at IIIala-salarngrassland plain to asses their nutrient status and productivity as influenced by season andrnsimulated grazing. Seasonal and annual biomass production of the grasses, seasonal effectsrnon grass moisture content and on accumulation of N, P, K and Na were studied. The effectrnof grazing, simulated by clipping, was followed under glasshouse condition.rnSeasonal and annual biomass production was estimated from four 6 x 6 m fenced quadrates,rnthe grass stand of which was mowed at the beginning to a height of two cm. The threernquadrates were systematically selected and placed such that each species had one quadratrnwhere it homogenously covered the entire quadrat, whereas the fourth quadrat was establishedrnin such a way that it included mixed stands of the three species. In each quadrat, there wererna total of 36, 50 x 50 cm sub-quadrates. Biomass production was estimated from nine subquadratesrnwithin each quadrat after allowing the grass to grow for 3, 6, 9 and 12 months.rnMoisture and nutrient content of grasses was determined seasonally (every three months) fromrnsix plant samples for each species collected randomly from the area. All the data werernstatistically analyzed by one way Analysis of Variance using Tukey's Family Error Rate test.rnNine clipping treatment combinations, differing in cutting height and cutting frequency, werernapplied. The grasses were clipped to 4, 8 and 12 cm every 15, 30 and 45 days interval. TwowayrnAnalysis of Variance was performed to test for significant effects of cutting frquencyrnand cutting height on shoot and root biomass production and nitrogen content of the cpecies rnThe biomass production showed significant seasonal variation following rainfall. Peakrnbiomass was obtained during the wet periods, April-June and July-September. It ranged fromrn116 g m-2 to 409 g m-2 for B. radicans and I. afrum stands, respectively. There was very littlerngrowth in the dry period (October-December). The annual biomass production ranged fromrn397 to 792 g m-2 for B. radicans and mixed species stands, respectively. The biomassrnproduction of B. radicans stands were significantly lower than I. afrum and the mixed speciesrnstands.rnThe clipping experiment showed that both cutting frequency and cutting height affectedrnbiomass accumulation and nitrogen content of the three grass species. For all the threernspecies, increasing cutting frequency and decreasing cutting height decreased shoot and rootrnbiomass accumulation but increased nitrogen content. In general, clipping decreased shoot andrnroot biomass production but increased the nitrogen content of the species. Except for twornvalues obtained with B. radicans, root/shoot ratio was generally lower in clipped plants; andrnno consistent effect of clipping on tillering was observed. The experiment indicated that lowrnintensity grazing may improve the nutritional quality of the grasses without reducing biomassrnproduction.