Forage quality of seeded native grasses in the fall season on the Canadian Prairie Provinces
| Autor: | J. Woosaree, Paul G. Jefferson, K. May, W. P. McCaughey, Li. McFarlane |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2004 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Canadian Journal of Plant Science. 84:503-509 |
| ISSN: | 1918-1833 0008-4220 |
| DOI: | 10.4141/p03-145 |
| Popis: | Jefferson, P. G., McCaughey, W. P., May, K., Woosaree, J. and McFarlane, L. 2004. Forage quality of seeded native grasses in the fall season on the Canadian Prairie Provinces. Can. J. Plant Sci. 84: 503‐509. There is renewed interest in re-seeding native grasses in the prairie region of western Canada but there is limited information on their forage quality for fall grazing. We evaluated forage quality in early fall of nine native and one introduced grass species for 2 to 4 yr at five locations. The neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was high due to the advanced growth stage of the plants but varied among grass species at all sites. Western wheatgrass, Pascopyrum smithii, exhibited the lowest NDF and highest in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD). Northern wheatgrass, Elymus lanceolatus, exhibited the highest crude protein while western wheatgrass ranked second highest for crude protein. Indiangrass, Sorghastrum nutans, exhibited the highest P and Ca concentrations, while green needle grass, Nasella viridula, and mammoth wildrye, Leymus racemosus, exhibited the lowest concentrations. Acid detergent fiber (ADF) was not highly correlated to IVOMD, presumably due to the mature phenological stage at sampling. Western wheatgrass forage was nutritionally adequate to maintain a dry beef cow during the second trimester of pregnancy. Other species did not “cure on the stem” as had been previously reported and would require supplementary energy and protein to be utilized for fall pastures. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|