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Forage nutritive value of T exas bluegrass harvested in the morning and afternoon in northwest O klahoma
Author(s) -
Goldman Jason J.,
Gunter Stacey A.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
grassland science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.388
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1744-697X
pISSN - 1744-6961
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-697x.2012.00252.x
Subject(s) - morning , forage , perennial plant , dry matter , zoology , biology , agronomy , growing season , organic matter , ruminant , pasture , botany , ecology
T exas bluegrass ( P oa arachnifera T orr.) is a highly rhizomatous, dioecious, sexual, perennial, cool‐season grass native to southern K ansas, O klahoma, western A rkansas and most of T exas. This native species is of particular interest for development into an improved cool‐season forage plant because of its heat tolerance and persistence under the extreme environmental conditions of the southern G reat P lains. The objectives of this experiment were to determine water‐soluble, non‐structural carbohydrate and crude protein concentrations, forage dry matter yield, and in situ organic matter and crude protein disappearance from T exas bluegrass as affected by germplasm, maturity and time of harvest (morning and afternoon) at W oodward, O klahoma. Crude protein concentrations ranged from 9 to 12% across seasons and did not differ between a morning and afternoon harvest. Dry matter yield ranged from 2130 to 5580 kg ha −1 over all harvest dates. Water‐soluble, non‐structural carbohydrate concentration was greater in the afternoon compared to morning harvests and ranged from 11 to 26%. Based on estimates from in situ digestion, the ratio of ruminally degradable crude protein to ruminally degraded organic matter in Texas bluegrass, it may compensate for the ruminally degraded nitrogen deficiency associated with dormant warm‐season grasses during the winter. The forage nutritive value parameters estimated in this study indicate that T exas bluegrass has potential as an improved cool‐season pasture grass.