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- Title
Evaluating Yield and Nutritive Value of Tifton-85 Bermudagrass and Tifton-85 Bermudagrass-Alfalfa Mixtures as Baleage in the Southeast.
- Authors
Hendricks, T. J.; Tucker, J. J.; Hancock, D.; Stewart, R. L.
- Abstract
Bermudagrass is the primary perennial warm-season forage produced in the Southeast; however, its moderate forage quality makes large amounts of fertilization and additional supplementation necessary. By interseeding bermudagrass with a legume, many of these concerns can be reduced. Legumes, such as alfalfa, have the ability to fix N, thus reducing the need for commercial N fertilizer. Alfalfa also improves the relative forage quality (RFQ) of alfalfa-bermudagrass mixtures by 30+ points, thereby reducing the need for additional supplementation. The production of alfalfa-bermudagrass baleage can further improve profitability by reducing losses due to poor weather conditions or leaf shatter associated with traditional hay production. The objective of this research is to compare the forage quality and yield of bermudagrass harvested as baleage with and without alfalfa interseeded, and the associated 'change over time' across the season. This study was conducted on an established field of 'Tifton 85' (T85) bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) at the University of Georgia Coastal Plains Experiment Station in Tifton, Georgia. Ten 0.5-acre plots were randomly assigned to either T85 or T85 interseeded with 'Bulldog 805' alfalfa (Medicago sativa). T85 bermudagrass-only treatments received nitrogen fertilization (84 kg N ha-1) four times throughout the growing season, and both treatments were irrigated (2.5 to 5 cm per week) to supplement rainfall, as needed. Plots were harvested at early bloom stage every 28 to 35 days throughout the growing season, baled at 40-60% moisture, and individually wrapped. Plots were evaluated at each harvest for botanical composition and forage yield. Bales were sampled prior to wrapping for nutritive value analysis. Botanical composition revealed that the bermudagrass-only treatment contained 82.3 ± 3.8 % bermudagrass and 18.2 ± 3.9% weed and/or bare area while the alfalfa-bermudagrass treatment comprised 21.7 ± 4.2% alfalfa, 47.6 ± 3.5% bermudagrass, and 30.5 ± 4.2% weed and/or bare. In both treatments, the percent weed vegetation increased (P = 0.0004 and P < 0.0001 for bermudagrass and alfalfa-bermudagrass, respectively) in the August harvest. The bermudagrass-only treatment had a significantly greater (P = 0.018) dry matter yield (DM) than the alfalfa-bermudagrass mixture (2932.1 ± 185.3 kg ha-1 and 2190.2 ± 231.1 kg ha-1, respectively). Although bermudagrass-only DM did not increase significantly (P = 0.23), both treatments had greater yields in the late-season cuttings. Alfalfa-bermudagrass yields increased (P ≤ 0.01) between June (1239.2 ± 91.2 kg ha-1) and both the July (2745.8 ± 228.7 kg ha-1) and August (2585.8 ± 397.5 kg ha-1) cuttings.
- Subjects
BERMUDA grass as feed; BERMUDA grass yields; COMPOSITION of grasses
- Publication
Journal of Animal Science, 2016, Vol 95, p27
- ISSN
0021-8812
- Publication type
Abstract
- DOI
10.2527/ssasas2017.054