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- Title
Establishment-Year Native Perennial Bunchgrass Biomass Yields.
- Authors
Muir, James P.; Foster, Jamie L.; Bow, J. Randal
- Abstract
Weak seedling vigor of native North American perennial bunchgrasses may result in poor establishment-season herbage dry matter (DM) yields (HY). Interseeding North American annual legumes as an N source during grassland restoration, pasture establishment, or bioenergy crop seeding might compound this limitation. Our first objective was to evaluate yellow Indiangrass [Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash], switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L), and little bluestem [Schizachyhum scopahum (Michx.) Nash] first-season HY in the southern Great Plains of North America. This took place in north-central Texas on a Windthorst fine sandy loam soil with no irrigation or soil amendments. Our second objective was to measure the effects of cross-drilling native North American annual legumes smooth-seeded wild bean [Strophostyles leiosperma (Torr. & Gray) Piper], trailing wild bean [Strophostyles helvula (L.) Elliott], and showy partridge pea [Chamaechsta fasciculata (Michx.) Greene] on bunchgrass first-season HY. In the drier (340 mm) year, legumes failed to establish, while switchgrass produced 2410 and Indiangrass yielded 1980 kg HY ha-1 y-1. In the year with 687 mm rainfall, legumes had no negative effects (P > 0.05) on grass HY (5490 kg HY ha-1 y-1 for switchgrass) despite providing up to 49 through 1800 kg HY ha-1 y-1 (showy partridge-pea with little bluestem; P ≤ 0.05 for year by grass x legume interactions). Our results indicate that these bunchgrasses produced harvestable HY during their establishment year and that simultaneously seeding annual legumes did not impair native perennial grass establishment while, in 1 yr, making potential N contributions for subsequent stand productivity.
- Subjects
SEEDLINGS; BUNCHGRASSES; DRY matter in animal nutrition; GRASSES; LEGUMES
- Publication
Crop Science, 2016, Vol 56, Issue 5, p2827
- ISSN
0011-183X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2135/cropsci2015.11.0688