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Six Asiatic bluestems (Bothriochloa spp.) B. caucasica, cv. Caucasian, B. ischaemum var. ischaemum cv. Plains, and 4 experimental strains of B. Intermedia X B. ischaemum (B,L,LL, and T), and an Eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides cv. PM-K-24) were grown in southern Illinois on a TypicFragiudaffsoil common to the Central U.S. Transitional Zone. The grasses were evaluated from 1975 through 1977 for yield, crude protein (CP), and in vitro digestibility (IVD) to determine their potential as alternatives to “summer dormant” tall fescue (Festuca arundinaceae) in southern Illinois. Average seasonal dry matter yields ranged from 10 to 15 metric tons per hectare. Eastern gamagrass was slower to establish than the bluestems, but after the first production year it was higher yielding than the bluestems. Forage CP and IVD averaged near 11 and 50%, respectively, over the 3-year period. There was little difference between the grasses for CP, but IVD of Caucasian bluestem was significantly lower than that of the other bluestems and Eastern gamagrass. All the grasses survived the three winters that yield and quality data were taken, but in two subsequent severe winters only Caucasian bluestem and the Eastern gamagrass were winter hardy. The transition zone extends from south central Missouri across southern Illinois and eastward. This zone is subject to highly variable inter and intraseasonal temperature and rainfall patterns, the result of frequent but irregular advance and retreat of Canadian and Gulf of Mexico frontal air masses. The shallow unglaciated loess soils throughout much of the zone are underlain by silaceous silt pans (Steinhardt and Franzmeier 1979) that result in “perched” water tables and saturated soils in the winter and imminent drought after only short periods without rainfall in the summer. Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) is well adapted in this zone and is productive and of satisfactory forage quality in spring and fall, but high temperatures reduce both growth and forage quality of fescue in the summer (Kaiser et al. 1974; Mott et al. 197 1). Increased alkaloid concentration (Bush et al. 1972) and decreased soluble carbohydrate levels (Smith 1977; Vartha et al. 1977) appear to explain the low quality of fescue in the summer. It is possible that certain warm-season grasses may potentially be used to supplement. tall fescue in the summer in southern Illinois and the transition zone. The Asiatic bluesterns Bothriochloa spp. (Harlan et al. 1962; Roundtree et al. Authors are assistant professor of agronomy, University of Illinois Dixon Springs Agricultural Center, Simpson, Illinois 62985; associate professor of agronomy, University of Illinois Dixon Springs Agricultural Center, Simpson, Illinois 62985; and professor of animal science, Department of Animal Science, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801. _ Appreciation is expressed to C.M. Taliaferro of Oklahoma State University, to the Kansas SCS-PMC, Manhattan, and R.R. Brown, PMC-SCS, Columbia, Missouri, for furnishing plant materials used in this study. Manuscript received May 6, 1979. 388 1974; Taliaferro and Harland 1973) may offer more vigorous summer forage than the difficult to manage native range or prairie grasses (Branson 1953). In Missouri (Roundtree et al. 1974) Caucasian bluestem (B. caucasica) outyielded Midland bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) in clipping trials, and in grazing trials Caucasian bluestem gave higher average daily gains than switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Plains bluestem (B. ischaemum var. ischaemum), released in 1973, was reported to be higher in in vitro digestibility than Caucasian bluestem (Taliaferro and Harlan 1973). Although Eastern gamagrass is regarded to be high yielding and highly palatable (Schwendiman and Hawk 1973), there is little or no research documentation. Fraps and Fudge (1945) ran proximate analyses on 64 pasture and range grasses, and in their data nitrogen free extract of Eastern gamagrass appeared to be somewhat higher than in the other grasses. The objective of this study was to evaluate various selections and experimental strains of Asiatic bluestems and an Eastern gamagrass for crude protein (CP), in vitro digestibility (IVD), yield, and winter survival. The ultimate purpose was to determine which of the grasses would offer the best alternative to tall fescue for the summer in southern Illinois or the transitional zone.

Quality, Yield, and Survival of Asiatic Bluestems and an Eastern Gamagrass in Southern Illinois