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Relative Cattle Preference of 24 Forage Kochia ( Kochia prostrata ) Entries and Its Relation to Forage Nutritive Value and Morphological Characteristics
Author(s) -
Waldron Blair L.,
Davenport Burke W.,
Malechek John C.,
Jensen Kevin B.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.2135/cropsci2009.10.0610
Subject(s) - forage , biology , rangeland , agronomy , grazing , livestock , biomass (ecology) , phenology , bromus inermis , ecology
Forage kochia [ Kochia prostrata (L.) Schrad.] has been shown to be nutritious fall and winter forage on western U.S. rangelands; however, its utilization by livestock is not well understood. This study compared relative cattle preferences among forage kochia accessions, alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.), and winterfat ( Krascheninnikovia spp.), and how they related to nutritional and morphological characteristics. Relative preference was measured as biomass consumed on experimental plots near Promontory, UT, during September of 2002 and 2003. Preference differences ( P < 0.01) were found among forage kochia accessions; however, all were consumed to some level, ranging from 71 to 35% of biomass consumed. Traits highly associated with biomass consumed included pregrazing biomass ( r = 0.93), phenological maturity ( r = −0.85), branch density ( r = 0.80), and leafiness ( r = 0.70) suggesting that productive, leafy, less mature plants are preferred by cattle. Crude protein, fiber, and digestibility were moderately associated with cattle preference but were not consistent predictors. Overall, we conclude that forage kochia is a palatable shrub for grazing during the fall, with preference and utilization of some entries being comparable to alfalfa and greater than winterfat. Grazing behavior also suggested that forage kochia growing in a mixture with adapted grasses would enhance livestock utilization.