Establishment, yield, and nutritional quality of 'Nordan' crested wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum [Fischer ex Link] Schultes), 'Fairway' crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum [L.] Gaertner), 'Arriba' western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii [Rydb.] A. Love), 'Luna' pubescent wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium subsp. barbulatum [Schur.] Barkw. and D.R. Dewey), and 'Largo' tall wheatgrass (T. ponticum [Pod] Barkw. and D.R. Dewey) were evaluated on big sagebrush range (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. tridentata) in northcentral New Mexico during a 5-year study. All the above wheatgrasses showed high initial densities and long-term persistence. Wheatgrass yields across years and seasons during the last 2 years of study averaged 760 kg/ha compared to forage yields of 355 kg/ha on surrounding ungrazed native rangeland. There were no differences (P > .05) among wheatgrasses in standing crop of current year's growth during spring, summer, or fall. Crude protein concentrations did not differ (P > .05) among wheatgrasses with seasonal advance. However, all the wheatgrasses showed a consistent decline in nutritional quality from spring to summer to fall. All the wheatgrasses we studied will provide high-quality, spring (mid-April to mid-June) forage for livestock. During summer, use of native range is advantageous because it contains a high component of warm season grasses and forbs. Interseeding shrubs in wheatgrass seedings could reduce protein supplementation costs in winter. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.