Impact of seeding rate on annual ryegrass performance

Annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) is a primary forage resource for livestock producers throughout the south‐eastern USA during the winter‐growing season. It is important for livestock producers to begin grazing annual ryegrass as early as possible and any management practices maximizing early season production could be beneficial. To assess the impact of seeding rate on subsequent yield, yield distribution, quality, seedling density, and end‐of‐season plant and tiller density, a 2‐year study was initiated at four locations in Louisiana. Three annual ryegrass cultivars, varying in seed size, were established at four seeding rates based on pure live seed (PLS) rates of 400, 800, 1200 and 1600 PLS m^?2. There was no advantage in total yield from increasing seeding rates beyond 800 PLS m^?2. However, first‐harvest yields increased from 360 to 930 kg dry matter (DM) ha^?1 as seeding rate increased from 400 to 1600 PLS m^?2. Crude protein and neutral‐detergent fibre concentrations, and in vitro DM digestibility, were not affected by seeding rate. Seedling density and end‐of‐season plant numbers increased as seeding rate increased. However, stems per plant decreased as seeding rate increased, indicating compensatory tillering for the reduced plant numbers observed at the lower seeding rates. These results indicate first‐harvest yield can be increased by planting at higher seeding rates but total yields are not increased.     

Animal and forage responses on Maximus,a tetraploid cultivar vs Marshall,a diploid cultivar of annual ryegrass

This 2‐year grazing study carried out at Raymond, Mississippi, USA, evaluated animal performance and forage characteristics of a tetraploid (“Maximus”) vs a diploid cultivar (“Marshall”) of annual ryegrass at three stocking rates (SR; 3.5, 5.0 or 7.5 animals per ha). Angus cross‐bred heifers (Bos taurus; initial body weight [BW] = 240 kg) were continuously stocked on pastures at set stocking rates for the duration of the study. Stocking rates and cultivars were arranged in a 3 × 2 factorial design that was completely randomized with two replications. There was no cultivar effect (p = .449) on average annual herbage mass (HM). However, HM decreased linearly with increasing SR (p = .001) from 3.8 to 2.5 t ha^?1 during Year 1 and 4.4 to 3.8 t ha^?1 during Year 2 (p = .028). In Year 2, there was a difference in water‐soluble carbohydrates (WSC) between cultivars (p = .012; Marshall, 117.0 vs Maximus, 139.0 g/kg). There was no cultivar effect (p > .10) on average daily gain (ADG) in either year of the study. In both years, ADG decreased linearly with increasing SR (p = .001) from 1.22 to 0.98 kg/d during Year 1 and 1.31 to 1.08 kg/d during Year 2. Across years, gain ha^?1 increased linearly (p < .001) with increasing SR. Our results showed no difference in animal performance and HM between the two cultivars. Producers’ choice of annual ryegrass cultivar should be based on seeding cost and agronomic traits that allow for better adaptation of the forage.     

Crown rust affects plant performance and interference ability of Italian ryegrass in the post-epidemic generation

This study investigated the effects of crown rust (caused by Puccinia coronata f.sp. lolii) in Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) on plant growth and interference ability in the post‐epidemic generation. Rust‐infected Italian ryegrass plants produced seeds with lower weights than healthy plants (on average proportionately 0·36 lower). Furthermore, the early seedling vigour of plants from rust‐infected parents was reduced by 0·50 compared with seed from healthy parents. Under disease‐free conditions in the post‐epidemic generation, mature plants from rust‐infected parents produced 0·13 less shoot dry weight, 0·15 fewer tillers, 0·11 fewer leaves and 0·25 less leaf area than plants from healthy parents. As such, the effects of crown rust in Italian ryegrass persisted for at least one post‐epidemic generation. Under rust‐infected conditions in the post‐epidemic generation, however, the difference in performance between plants from healthy and rust‐infected parents was minimal. This suggests that any advantage plants gain from having healthy parents, compared with rust‐infected parents, might be lost when the post‐epidemic generation is grown under conditions of rust infection. Irrespective of rust infection in the post‐epidemic generation, the magnitude of intra‐specific interference was greater in monocultures of Italian ryegrass from healthy parents than in those from rust‐infected parents. However, the magnitude of inter‐specific interference and the relative interference ability of plants of rust‐infected and healthy parents did not differ. The implications of these results to plant ecology are discussed.     

Effects of soil bulk density and strength on seedling growth of annual ryegrass and tall fescue in controlled environment

Grasses sown with minimal tillage commonly exhibit slower establishment and lower herbage yield than those sown into a conventionally tilled seedbed. Some of the difference in performance may be attributed to differences in bulk density between tilled and untilled ground. It is not known if performance rankings of grass cultivars established in clean‐tilled ground remain valid in more compacted soil characteristic of no‐till seeding. Seedlings of five cultivars of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) [IRG] and five cultivars of tall fescue [Festuca arundinacea Schreb. also known as Lolium arundinaceum Schreb. (Darbysh.)] [TF] were grown in pots of Coyle or Stephenville series soils (sandy loam and loamy sand respectively) packed to 0·75, 0·88 or 1·00 of maximum packing densities, established as 1·47 and 1·68 g cm^?3 for Coyle and Stephenville soil respectively. Leaf appearance was measured until seedling harvest at 540 growing degree days after emergence. Increased bulk density decreased leaf appearance rates, reduced final leaf and tiller numbers and aerial and root biomass at harvest in both IRG and TF. Among cultivars within species, there was no difference (P > 0·05) in response to measured parameters to change in bulk density. Seedling growth and development of IRG were consistently greater than that of TF but showed greater reduction in response to increased soil bulk density. Soil strength provided a better indicator of likely seedling response to soil compaction than bulk density. The results suggest that cultivar rankings obtained under conventional tillage are likely to be valid with no‐till planting.     

Effects of residual dry matter on net primary production and plant functional groups in Californian annual grasslands

A five‐year experiment tested the response of above‐ground net primary production (ANPP) and plant functional groups to manipulations in residual dry matter (RDM), reflecting typical grazing practices in Californian annual grasslands. The RDM treatments were 225, 560, 900 and 5000 kg ha^?1 with the latter treatment representing no grazing by livestock. ANPP in autumn, winter and spring showed a strong year × RDM interaction indicating that, in periods with higher herbage mass, the highest RDM treatment, representative of no grazing, was usually more productive. However, the opposite pattern was observed for the autumn period when ANPP was lowest. Random effects models indicated that at most 0·20 of the variation in ANPP for any of the three seasons stemmed from RDM treatments, with the remaining variation partitioned among temporal and spatial dimensions or not explained. Cover of grass species was highest under the highest RDM treatment in four of the five years, and lowest for the lowest RDM treatment compared with the two intermediate RDM treatments in the two years with the highest herbage masses. Cover of forbs and clover was higher on the lowest RDM treatment and lower on the highest RDM treatment than on the intermediate treatments. The results suggest that residual RDM values above 550 kg RDM ha^?1 are appropriate for annual grasslands with a mean annual precipitation of more than 400 mm and offer a compromise between herbage use and promotion of future productivity and diversity, but direct control of ANPP and composition via management is not attainable because the environmental factors are predominant.     

Effects of incorporating cowpea in a subtropical grass pasture on forage production and quality and the performance of cows and calves

The increasing cost of N fertilizer has stimulated an interest in sourcing protein from warm‐season legumes among beef cattle producers in the tropical/subtropical areas of the world. The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of two strategies of incorporating cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] into bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flügge) pastures on the herbage characteristics and performance of grazing cow–calf pairs. The study was conducted in Ona, Florida, USA, from May to August in 2007 and 2008. Experimental units were 1·0 ha. Treatments were bahiagrass pasture alone (control), 50:50 bahiagrass–cowpea pasture (cowpea), bahiagrass pasture with a cowpea creep grazing area (0·1 ha, creep grazing) and bahiagrass pasture with a creep‐fed concentrate [(creep feeding; 10 g kg^?1 body weight (BW)]. The cowpea pastures had lower herbage mass [HM, 1·8 vs. 3·7 t ha^?1] and herbage allowance [HA, 0·8 vs. 1·4 kg DM kg^?1 live weight (LW)] compared with the other treatments. Cowpea had greater CP (CP, 160 g kg^?1) and in vitro digestible organic matter (IVDOM), (600 g kg^?1) than bahiagrass (110 and 490 g kg^?1 respectively); however, cowpea HM was only 0·9 t ha^?1 in May and 0·7 t ha^?1 in June, but it did not persist in July and August. Calves receiving the creep feeding treatments had greater average daily gain (0·8 vs. 0·7 kg d^?1) than calves in other treatments. Further research is necessary to exploit the superior nutritive value of cowpea in grazing systems in the south‐eastern USA.     

Establishment of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) by self-seeding as affected by cutting date and degree of herbage removal in spring in pastures of the southern Great Plains of the United States

Annually sown cool-season small-grain cereal species can provide a valuable source of cool-season herbage for livestock in the southern Great Plains of the USA but limited access to field equipment for cultivation and sowing is an obstacle to their use. Italian ryegrass ( Lolium multiflorum Lam.) (IRG) can persist through self-seeding and may offer an alternative source of cool-season herbage. The effects of cutting dates in mid-April, early May or mid- to late May following sowing in the previous September, and of removing 0·57, 0·73 or 1·00 of the herbage mass at this time, on subsequent seed deposition, seedling re-establishment and herbage production of IRG were measured. Later cutting dates reduced seed production, seed deposition, 1000-seed weight and eventual re-establishment of IRG seedlings. Removing different proportions of the herbage mass did not compensate for reduced seed deposition arising from later cutting dates. Numbers of seed heads and seed required to achieve a self-seeded target population of 500 established seedlings m⁻² ranged from 885 to 5650 seed heads m⁻² and 3360 to 5850 deposited viable seeds m⁻². Re-establishment of IRG through self-seeding showed a failure rate of 0·43 indicating that self-seeded IRG will need periodic resowing. Any economic benefit derived from self-seeded IRG will depend heavily on the success of its rate of re-establishment.     

Economic comparison of forage production from annual crops, perennial pasture and native grassland in the alpine region of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

Economic costs and benefits for different grassland production systems were analysed. Comparisons included one native grassland (alpine meadow dominated by sedges) system, four perennial monocultures of smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss, SB), Siberian wild ryegrass (Elymus sibricus Linn., SW), drooping wild ryegrass (Elymus nutans Griseb, DW) and crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum Gaertn., CW), three mixtures of these grasses (SB + DW, SB + SW + CW and SB + SW + DW + CW), and two annual monocultures of forage oats (FO) and annual ryegrass (Lolium annual, AR) in the alpine grasslands of Qinghai‐Tibet, China. Perennial grass monocultures of SW and DW and perennial grass mixtures of SB + SW + DW + CW and SB + SW + CW had higher forage yields, total revenues, output:input ratios and net profits than native grassland. These grasses and mixtures can be used to reseed native grassland and improve degraded grassland in the alpine region of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau. Perennial grass mixtures can replace FO for more sustainable agricultural production systems as they are comparable in economic value and superior in ecological value to FO.     

Exploiting genetic and physiological variation of the native forage grass Trichloris crinita for revegetation in arid and semi‐arid regions: An integrative review

In arid, semi‐arid and dry subhumid regions, which represent ~ 41% of the Earth's land surface, desertification and soil degradation are very frequent, leading to low soil fertility and productivity. In these regions, revegetation with locally adapted native species may aid in ameliorating desertification processes. Trichloris crinita is a C4 perennial grass native to arid and semi‐arid regions of the American continent. Its good forage quality, drought tolerance, resistance to trampling and grazing, and rapid growth and competing aggressiveness among other native species warrant its use as forage and for revegetation purposes. In the last decades, many studies have revealed broad intraspecific genetic variation for ecophysiological, morphological, biomass production, nutritional quality (as forage) and adaptive stress response‐related traits. Also, results from field trials evaluating T. crinita genotypes as forage and for restoration of degraded areas suggest great potential for—and have encouraged—its utilization under different habitats and environmental conditions. In this integrative review, we compiled and discussed the most relevant research data regarding T. crinita, focusing on aspects and traits that influence its utilization both as forage and in rehabilitation of degraded lands. Challenges and prospects towards the improvement of this species in breeding programmes with specific goals are discussed.