Burning and Grazing to Promote Persistence of Warm-Season Grasses Sown into a Cool-Season Pasture

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. L. Bouressa ◽  
J. E. Doll ◽  
R. L. Cates ◽  
R. D. Jackson
Weed Science ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Peters ◽  
Russell S. Moomaw ◽  
Alex R. Martin

The control of three summer annual grass weeds with herbicides during establishment of forage grasses was studied near Concord and Mead, NE, in 1984, 1985, and 1986. Three cool-season forage grasses, intermediate wheatgrass, tall fescue, and smooth bromegrass, and two warm-season grasses, big bluestem and switchgrass, were included. The control of three major summer annual grasses, green foxtail, barnyardgrass, and large crabgrass, was excellent with fenoxaprop at 0.22 kg ai/ha. Slight to moderate injury to cool-season forage grasses and severe injury to warm-season grasses were evident. Sethoxydim at 0.22 kg ai/ha and haloxyfop at 0.11 kg ai/ha controlled green foxtail and large crabgrass, but not barnyardgrass. Sulfometuron-treated big bluestem and switchgrass plots had the best forage stand frequencies and yields and, at the rate used, sulfometuron satisfactorily controlled green foxtail but only marginally controlled barnyardgrass and large crabgrass.


1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (8) ◽  
pp. 1596-1602 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Bentivenga ◽  
B. A. D. Hetrick

Previous research on North American tallgrass prairie grasses has shown that warm-season grasses rely heavily on vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis, while cool-season grasses are less dependent on the symbiosis (i.e., receive less benefit). This led to the hypothesis that cool-season grasses are less dependent on the symbiosis, because the growth of these plants occurs when mycorrhizal fungi are inactive. Field studies were performed to assess the effect of phenology of cool- and warm-season grasses on mycorrhizal fungal activity and fungal species composition. Mycorrhizal fungal activity in field samples was assessed using the vital stain nitro blue tetrazolium in addition to traditional staining techniques. Mycorrhizal activity was greater in cool-season grasses than in warm-season grasses early (April and May) and late (December) in the growing season, while mycorrhizal activity in roots of the warm-season grasses was greater (compared with cool-season grasses) in midseason (July and August). Active mycorrhizal colonization was relatively high in both groups of grasses late in the growing season, suggesting that mycorrhizal fungi may proliferate internally or may be parasitic at this time. Total Glomales sporulation was generally greater in the rhizosphere of cool-season grasses in June and in the rhizosphere of the warm-season grasses in October. A growth chamber experiment was conducted to examine the effect of temperature on mycorrhizal dependence of cool- and warm-season grasses. For both groups of grasses, mycorrhizal dependence was greatest at the temperature that favored growth of the host. The results suggest that mycorrhizal fungi are active in roots when cool-season grasses are growing and that cool-season grasses may receive benefit from the symbiosis under relatively cool temperature regimes. Key words: cool-season grasses, tallgrass prairie, vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae, warm-season grasses.


2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (7) ◽  
pp. 1139-1148 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Biligetu ◽  
P. G. Jefferson ◽  
R. Muri ◽  
M. P. Schellenberg

Biligetu, B., Jefferson, P. G., Muri, R. and Schellenberg, M. P. 2014. Late summer forage yield, nutritive value, compatibility of warm-and cool-season grasses seeded with legumes in western Canada. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 1139–1148. In late summer and fall, quality and quantity of forage are important for weight gain by grazing animals in western Canada. The objective of this study was to evaluate forage nutritive value, dry matter (DM) yield, and compatibility of crested wheatgrass [Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn.], meadow bromegrass (Bromus riparius Rehm.), green needle grass [Nasella viridula (Trin.) Barkworth], northern wheatgrass [Elymus lanceolatus (Scribn. & J. G. Sm.) Gould], western wheatgrass [Pascopyrum smithii (Rydb.) Barkworth & D.R. Dewey], Russian wildrye [Psathyrostachys juncea (Fisch.) Nevski], big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman), or switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) in eight grass monocultures, and their binary mixtures with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.), or cicer-milkvetch (Astragalus cicer L.) harvested once in August or September. A field study was conducted over a 7-yr period from 1998 to 2004 near Swift Current (lat. 50°25'N, long. 107°44'W, 824 m elev.), SK, Canada, using a randomized complete block design. Forage DM yield was similar between August and September harvests (P>0.05). Binary mixtures of alfalfa–grass produced highest (P<0.05) DM yield ranging from 2449 to 2758 kg ha−1. The monoculture of crested wheatgrass (2143 kg ha−1), sainfoin with crested wheatgrass (2061 kg ha−1), and cicer-milkvetch with green needle grass (1838 kg ha−1) or cicer-milkvetch with western wheatgrass (1861 kg ha−1) produced the second highest (P<0.05) DM yields in the ranking. The two warm-season grasses produced the lowest (P>0.05) DM yields over the 7-yr period. Monocultures of green needle grass or northern wheatgrass had the highest acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF), while warm-season grasses with legumes had the lowest. Alfalfa with western wheatgrass and alfalfa with Russian wildrye had the highest crude protein (CP) concentrations. Monocultures of meadow bromegrass, crested wheatgrass, green needle grass, or cicer-milkvetch with meadow bromegrass, and sainfoin with crested wheatgrass had the lowest CP concentrations. In vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) was greater for mixtures than for the grass monocultures. Concentration of Ca and P was greater for warm-season grasses than cool-season grasses. Alfalfa with western wheatgrass was the best combination considering yield, quality, and compatibility for deferred grazing in late summer and fall in the semiarid prairies. Tested warm-season grasses are not recommended for seeding as binary mixtures with legumes for southwestern Saskatchewan.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie L. Wirt ◽  
Rodney G. Lym

When invasive weeds are removed with herbicides, revegetation of native species is often desirable. The extended soil activity of aminocyclopyrachlor is important for long-term weed control but could reduce recovery of native species as well. The effect of aminocyclopyrachlor applied alone or with chlorsulfuron on cool- and warm-season grass species commonly used for revegetation was evaluated. The cool-season grasses included green needlegrass, intermediate wheatgrass, and western wheatgrass, whereas the warm-season grasses were big bluestem, sideoats grama, and switchgrass. A separate experiment was conducted for each species. Aminocyclopyrachlor was applied at 91 to 329 g ha−1 alone or with chlorsulfuron from 42 to 133 g ha−1 approximately 30 d after emergence. Warm-season grasses generally were more tolerant of aminocyclopyrachlor than the cool-season grasses evaluated in this study. Switchgrass and big bluestem were the most tolerant of the warm-season species when aminocyclopyrachlor was applied at 168 g ha−1 and averaged 199 and 150% forage production, respectively, compared with the control. Green needlegrass was the most tolerant cool-season grass. Western wheatgrass was the least tolerant species evaluated because forage production only averaged 32% of the control the year after treatment and thus would not be suitable for seeding if aminocyclopyrachlor was applied. The effect of chlorsulfuron applied with aminocyclopyrachlor varied by grass species. For example, green needlegrass injury 8 wk after treatment (WAT) averaged 30 and 48% when aminocylopyrachlor was applied alone, respectively, but injury was reduced to less than 16% when aminocyclopyrachlor was applied with chlorsulfuron. However, injury on the less-tolerant intermediate wheatgrass ranged from 48 to 92% by 4 WAT when aminocyclopyrachlor was applied alone and from 60 to 86% when chlorsulfuron was included in the treatment.


2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (101) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie E. Doll ◽  
Karen A. Haubensak ◽  
Emma L. Bouressa ◽  
Randall D. Jackson

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (7) ◽  
pp. 1376-1380 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Daniels Hetrick ◽  
D. Gerschefske Kitt ◽  
G. Thompson Wilson

Warm-season (C4) and cool-season (C3) mycorrhizal grasses were 63–215 and 0.12–4.1 times larger in dry weight than non-inoculated controls, respectively. Nonmycorrhizal warm-season plants did not grow and frequently died, while cool-season plants grew moderately well in the absence of mycorrhizal symbiosis. Like warm-season grasses, tallgrass prairie forbs were highly dependent on mycorrhizal symbiosis, even though they are not known to employ the C4 photosynthetic pathway. Thus, phenology may be more critical than photosynthetic pathway in determining mycorrhizal dependence. Warm-season grasses and forbs had coarser, less frequently branched root systems than cool-season grasses, supporting the hypothesis that mycorrhizal dependence is related to root morphology. Cool-season grasses may have developed more fibrous root systems because mycorrhizal nutrient uptake was not effective in the colder temperate environment in which they evolved. In contrast, warm-season plants and dependence on mycorrhizal fungi may have coevolved, because both symbionts are of tropical origin.


1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. D. Hetrick ◽  
G. W. T. Wilson ◽  
J. F. Leslie

Root architecture of five warm-season and five cool-season grasses was compared. The cool-season grasses had significantly more primary and secondary roots than warm-season grasses, and the diameter of primary, secondary, and tertiary roots of cool-season grasses was significantly smaller than that of warm-season grasses. Soil microorganisms, mycorrhizae, and P fertilization did not affect root number or diameter of the cool-season grasses; root number of warm-season grasses did respond to mycorrhizae and P fertilization, but not soil microorganisms. Specific root length of cool-season grasses was not altered by mycorrhizae, soil microbes, or P fertilization, and was significantly greater than that of warm-season grasses, particularly those inoculated with mycorrhizae. Topological analysis of root architecture revealed that mycorrhizal symbiosis inhibited root branching in warm-season grasses but had no effect on rooting strategy of cool-season grasses. In contrast, P fertilization did not substantially alter root branching in warm- or cool-season grasses. Apparently, root architecture of the mycorrhizal-dependent warm-season grasses is quite plastic, allowing energy expenditure for root development to be conserved; the root architecture of the less mycorrhizal-dependent cool-season grasses appears to be fixed and does not alter to accommodate the symbiosis. Key words: topology, rooting strategy, C3, C4.


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