A comparison of yields and composition of some Illinois pasture plants
1940
Fuelleman, R.F. | Burlison, W.L.
Data are presented showing the yields of oven-dry forage from Reed canary grass, brome grass, Kentucky bluegrass, and orchard grass pastures at Urbana, Illinois. Chemical analyses of "A", "B", "C" forage samples are tabulated and indicate the protein, calcium, and phosphorus content of the above grasses. Comparisons of the yield and composition show that brome grass has yielded more oven-dry forage per acre than the other grasses discussed. In terms of total digestible nutrients produced per acre brome grass has also outyielded these other grasses, but on the basis of percentage composition Kentucky bluegrass usually contains more digestible nutrients per pound than brome grass, Reed canary grass, or orchard grass. Considerable variability in composition was found in the same species in different seasons. This was apparently a seasonal effect due in part to previous management, to type of livestock used, or to the physiological effects of environment, more specifically precipitation and temperature. The data on the chemical composition of the forage grasses discussed in this paper are in the form of hyperbolic curves, the reverse of the seasonal temperature curves which were in the form of parabolas. Yields as calculated by the "A" and "B" methods usually vary from each other depending on season and previous treatment of the pasture. Following the season of 1936 forage yields of a bunch-type grass, such as orchard grass, showed larger differences between "A" and "B" yields than did the sod-forming bluegrass and brome grass.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by National Agricultural Library