GRASSES INDIGENOUS TO ALASKA AND ICELAND COMPARED WITH INTRODUCED GRASSES FOR FORAGE QUALITY

Entries of red fescue (Festuca rubra), bluejoint reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis), polargrass (Arctagrostis latifolia), Bering hairgrass (Deschampsia beringensis), and tufted hairgrass (D. caespitosa), native to Alaska or Iceland, were compared with entries of timothy (Phleum pratense), bromegrass (Bromus inermis), meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis), and creeping foxtail (A. arundinaceus), of more southern origin, for forage quality characteristics in a trial at Palmer, Alaska. The grasses were sampled at head emergence and after 30–32 d regrowth in 1982; in 1983 initial growth was sampled weekly for 11 w commencing 13 May. The native grasses were generally as high and sometimes significantly higher in N and P percentages than the introduced grasses. Red fescue and Bering hairgrass tended to be the highest in N and red fescue and polargrass the highest in P concentrations. Bromegrass was notably low in P content. Timothy and bromegrass were often the highest in IVDMD, and bluejoint and tufted hairgrass tended to be the lowest. The average daily rate of decline in IVDMD for timothy and bromegrass over the 1983 sampling period approximated the 4.8–5 g kg−1 reported by others. However, rates of decline varied considerably from week to week and generally were highest during the first 4–6 wk. The native entries manifested sufficient potential in quality to merit further consideration for forage use.Key words: Alopercurus, Arctagrostis, Bromus, Calamagrostis, Deschampsia, Festuca, Phleum

EVALUATION OF FOURTEEN GRASS POPULATIONS AS FORAGE CROPS FOR SOUTHWESTERN SASKATCHEWAN

Fourteen grass populations were evaluated for stand establishment, persistence, and dry matter yield under dryland conditions. Of these populations, Agropyron desertorum was most suitable for hay and Elymus angustus for pasture. Bromus biebersteinii compared favorably with Elymus junceus for pasture, suggesting that the two should be compared under grazing. When grown in mixture with alfalfa E. angustus and E. karataviensis tended to maintain a 50:50 grass-legume stand, whereas A. desertorum, A. cristatum × A. desertorum (4N), B. biebersteinii, B. inermis and E. junceus were very competitive and kept the percentage of alfalfa in the stand low. Both Elymus dahuricus and Elymus sibiricus showed good initial production and were short lived, suggesting they might be useful for enhancing the early production from other species sown in widely spaced rows. Elymus karataviensis was persistent but low yielding. Arctagrostis latifolia and Deschampsia beringensis were low yielding and lacked persistence.Key words: Hay, pasture, Arctagrostis, Agropyron, Bromus, Deschampsia, Elymus