• Basic Information
• Additional Info

Basic Information

• Project No. and Title: NCCC_OLD31 : Ecophysiological Aspects of Forage Management
• Period Covered: 10/01/2013 to 09/01/2014
• Date of Report: 12/01/2014
• Annual Meeting Dates: 06/17/2014 to 06/19/2014

Participants

Accomplishments

Impacts

1. Univ. of Kentucky. This work has demonstrated that fungal endophyte infection in tall fescue can have substantial ecosystem-level effects, that the symbiosis is under both plant and endophyte genetic control, and that this symbiosis is likely to respond to future changes in climate. This knowledge aids in our understanding of the role this important symbiosis plays in regional ecosystem dynamics now and how that role may change in the future. In addition, this research aims to contribute to natural resource management and conservation by identifying the factors that control tall fescue?s ability to invade and persist in native prairie ecosystems and the response of these native ecosystems to global change factors.
2. Univ. of Maryland. Our research on native and invasive insect pests is focused on reducing impacts of injury through sustainable processes, including natural enemies, cultural controls, and resistant/tolerant varieties. Our research on the molecular ecology of potato leafhopper is providing a novel way of viewing plant-insect interactions, thus suggesting new methods for creating tolerant plants. Research on new invasive stink bugs is centered on understanding their ecology in a new climatic setting as well as new potential hosts for injury and development. Responses of crops to pest injury may change with climate change, and our work examines the change in risk of pest injury in the future.
3. Kansas State Univ. Bermudagrass is a productive warm-season perennial for the southern portion of the US forage transition zone, but has a short season of use and requires substantial amounts of N. Legumes for cool- and warm-season portions of the growing season could reduce N input and environmental costs and improve animal performance. The use of corn and grain sorghum for ethanol production results in production of more than 1,000 tons per day of dried distillers grains as a by-product. Research has shown that DDG as a pasture supplement is an economically viable practice, whether fed daily, on alternate days, or later in the season when forage quality declines. The nutrients fed in DDG can also replace commercial fertilizers that would otherwise be needed by pastures.
4. Kansas State Univ. Tall fescue is grown on at least 37 million acres in the US, supporting roughly 20% of the beef cattle in the so-called transition zone. Whereas cultivars with a nontoxic endophyte produce better animal performance than those with the endemic endophyte, the growth pattern of tall fescue still leaves a grazing gap in midsummer. Bermudagrass, a warm-season perennial, can be grown in the southern portion of this zone, and annual crabgrass is also a productive, highly palatable warm-season grass that can fill this gap. These warm-season grasses tend to have a shorter grazing period than tall fescue, but interseeding a cool-season annual such as wheat can provide earlier grazing.
5. Michigan State Univ. Planting greater than recommended rates of tall fescue and white clover seed in mixtures did not improve nitrogen fixation but relatively small proportions of white clover in mixtures had lasting effects on grass growth. When growing alfalfa-grass mixtures in Michigan, orchardgrass yielded more harvestable biomass than endophyte-free tall fescue, but forage protein and relative feed quality was greater for tall-fescue-alfalfa mixtures. Application of nitrogen fertilizer to alfalfa/grass mixtures is not recommended because, while N increased biomass yield in non-drought conditions, it also reduced the proportion of alfalfa in mixtures, thereby reducing biological nitrogen fixation by alfalfa.
6. Univ. of Nebraska. Research completed in 2013 identified methods to improve establishment of switchgrass for use as a bioenergy and forage crop and quantify how much are nutrients in switchgrass harvested for biomass energy and forage use. Economics of growing and harvesting switchgrass across different environments also were compared. In other research, impacts of changing the amount and form of nitrogen inputs to smooth bromegrass pastures were compared including effects on herbage accumulation and presence of pasture plant species. Ongoing research has focused on effects of pasture management strategies on soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics.
7. Purdue Univ. Understanding genotype x environment x management interactions is fundamental to successful deployment of any new agricultural enterprise; perennial biomass systems are no exception. Marginal soils inherently low in P and K can produce high yields of biomass, often with minimal N inputs. Competition of biomass production with food/feed production systems may be lessened if these low fertility soils can produce biomass for fuel/bio-products without impacting other ecosystem services.
8. Texas Tech Univ. Improvements to the ALMANAC model for switchgrass will allow more accurate simulations of biomass yield in the Mid to Lower South, especially in the fall when the crop is senescing. The simulations will also be applicable for predicting switchgrass yield when used as a forage. Progress was made in producing simulations of N and P removal so that fertilizer recovery and replacement can be more accurately predicted. The model will be useful for biomass and forage managers. For WW-BDahl Old World bluestem, digital image analysis can be used as a low-cost tool for researchers to monitor ground cover, and use that to calculate yield and light interception, especially up until early July when growth is mainly vegetative. This capability will reduce the costs of monitoring forage yield and will lead to future capabilities of predicting forage yield under water-limiting conditions.
9. USDA-ARS, Mandan, ND. The Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory and partners have developed new protocols and methods for assessing and monitoring grazinglands that have been adopted by action agencies. The research teams have developed long-term livestock and climate data that will be used to construct support tools to assist ranchers with grazing management decisions based on local weather forecasts. The new protocols and decision support tools will greatly improve the ability of land managers to adapt management to future climate variability and change.
10. USDA-ARS, University Park, PA. Best management practices (BMP) lessen stream impacts caused by pasture-based agriculture by excluding livestock and intercepting overland flow. However, BMPs must be properly placed in the landscape to be beneficial. Placing BMPs next to the stream in a straight line from the source area may not effectively buffer many heavy-use areas. GIS tools and topographic mapping can improve BMP efficiency by identifying flow paths and targeting the important streambank and riparian areas to mitigate for animal heavy use.
11. Virginia Tech. Gordon Jones (current PhD student at Virginia Tech) developed a statistical model using soil moisture and relative humidity that accurately predicted variation in herbage mineral concentration of pastures throughout the growing season. Use of this model to predict nutrient dynamics in pasture could allow for more efficient mineral supplementation strategies that lead to improved profitability, nutrient retention, and livestock health.
12. West Virginia Univ. Depending on the extent of soil coverage, switchgrass has potential as a cellulosic bioenergy feedstock on reclaimed surface mine lands in WV. Cave-in-Rock is more productive than cultivars Shawnee and Carthage and application of up to 67 kg N ha-1 may be adequate for high biomass production. Cultivars did not differ in theoretical ethanol yield Mg-1 of DM, but Cave-in-Rock has produced the highest theoretical ethanol production ha-1 due to high biomass production. Laboratory near-infrared reflectance spectroscopic analysis of pasture root density in soil samples processed to varying degrees suggests that intact cores may be an optimum form and that future analysis of root density in intact core samples may be feasible via field spectroscopy.
13. Univ. of Wyoming. The research program reported has positive impacts not only locally but regionally too. For example, selection of well-adapted high performing accessions/lines will result in development of cultivars that will be specifically suitable for Wyoming and neighboring states. This will eventually contribute to the improvement of productivity of local and regional producers and in the long-run, will provide economic benefits.

Publications