Forage Production and Selection for Vigor in Meadow and Hybrid Bromegrass in the Northern Great Plains

Meadow bromegrass (Bromus riparius Rehmann) is an important forage crop in Canada and the Intermountain West, but it has not been extensively evaluated in the northern Great Plains (NGP). Our objectives were to 1) evaluate meadow, smooth, and hybrid bromegrasses for forage production under intensive management in eastern South Dakota, and 2) evaluate the effect of selection for vigor in multiple environments on forage production of meadow bromegrass. Thirteen populations (7 meadow bromegrass, 5 hybrid bromegrass, and 1 smooth bromegrass) were evaluated for 4 yrs (2005-2007, 2009) at Brookings, SD. Biomass at anthesis was greater for smooth (6.75 Mg ha-1) than for meadow or hybrid brome (5.4 Mg ha-1) in 2005, but production at anthesis during 2006 and 2007 was similar for meadow and smooth bromegrass. Regrowth harvested during July and October 2005 and November 2006 was greater for meadow than smooth or hybrid bromegrass. Forage production at anthesis in 2009, after rest (i.e., no cutting) and fertilization in 2008, was 4.2 Mg ha-1 for meadow bromegrass compared with 3.3 Mg ha-1 and 2.6 Mg ha-1 for hybrid and smooth bromegrass, respectively. Smooth and hybrid bromegrasses had more leaves·tiller-1 than meadow bromegrass. After 6 yrs, meadow bromegrass had higher tiller density and greater potential for tolerating multiple harvests during a growing season than did smooth or hybrid bromegrass. Selection for vigor in multiple environments in North America resulted in experimental populations of meadow bromegrass with superior forage yield compared with ‘Fleet’ on marginal crop land in the northern Great Plains.

Impact of Harvest Management on Forage Production and Nutrient Removal by Smooth Bromegrass on a Vegetated Treatment Area

Beef cattle (Bos taurus L.) feedlots pose serious environmental challenges associated with nutrient runoff. Smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) is a perennial rhizomatous grass that is widely used for forage production in the USA and Canada. The objective of this research was to determine the best management system for producing forage from a vegetated treatment area (VTA) while maintaining the capacity of the VTA to remove nutrients from feedlot effluent. Four harvest management treatments (1-, 2-, and 3-harvest per year and an un-harvested control) were applied during spring 2005 and evaluated over a 5-yr period in a smooth brome sward on a VTA near Howard, SD. Mean annual total forage production during a 4-yr period ranged from 6.2 Mg·ha-1 to 9.5 Mg·ha-1 for 1- and 3-harvest systems, respectively. Nutrient removal by the bromegrass ranged from 148 kg·N·ha-1 and 15 kg·P·ha-1 for the 1-harvest treatment to 244 kg·ha-1 N and 24 kg·ha-1 P for the 3-harvest treatment. Results indicated that high amounts of smooth bromegrass forage could be produced and soil nutrients removed from 2- and 3-harvest systems without compro-mising stand vigor and persistence on a VTA in eastern South Dakota.