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Summer Accumulation of Tall Fescue at Low Elevations in the Piedmont: I. Fall Yield and Nutritive Value
Author(s) -
Burns Joseph C.,
Chamblee Douglas S.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj2000.922211x
Subject(s) - dry matter , loam , zoology , festuca arundinacea , randomized block design , agronomy , biology , poaceae , soil water , ecology
Summer accumulation of tall fescue ( Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) for fall and winter use in the Piedmont, a region of the USA of moderate fall and winter temperatures and open winters of frequent rainfall, has not been well documented. We determined in this 5‐yr study the yield and nutritive value in mid‐November of tall fescue accumulated monthly from 1 June to 1 September. A fifth treatment included an additional 67 kg N ha −1 applied at the 1 July accumulation date. The site was a Cecil clay loam (fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kanhapludults) soil and the treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Summer accumulations yielded from 3280 to 4130 kg ha −1 with a mean linear ( P ≤ 0.05) reduction in dry matter of 195 kg ha −1 for each week's delay in accumulation from 1 June until 1 September. In two of the three years, highest ( P ≤ 0.05) dry matter yields (DMY) resulted from the 1 June date (4070 to 5440 kg ha −1 ) and lowest ( P ≤ 0.05) from the 1 September date (1010 and 860 g kg −1 ). Repeated summer accumulations did not alter DMY ( P < 0.01) in subsequent falls or in the following spring. At mid‐November in vitro dry matter disappearance (IVDMD) had increased 30 g kg −1 for each 30‐d delay in accumulation from 1 June to 1 September, but no change occurred in crude protein (CP) (mean = 120 g kg −1 ). Summer accumulation of tall fescue for fall grazing can be practiced in the lower Piedmont with accumulation beginning as early as 1 June.