Interseeding legumes into grass sods increases herbage quality. Interseeding alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) into bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] has given yields comparable to grass fertilized with high rates of N. Our objective was to compare forage quality attributes of N‐fertilized bermudagrass with alfalfa‐bermudagrass mixtures. N rates of 0, 112, 224, and 448 kg ha−1 were applied to bermudagrass monoculture and to alfalfa interseeded into bermudagrass at 20‐, 40‐, and 60‐cm row spacings. Experiments were conducted on a Cecil sandy clay loam (clayey, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kanhapludult) and a Norfolk sandy loam (fine‐loamy, siliceous, thermic Typic Kandiudult) site. Hand‐harvested herbage samples were separated into botanical components. Crude protein, acid‐detergent fiber and neutral‐detergent fiber were measured using a combination of wet‐lab and near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) procedures. Nitrogen increased the crude protein in bermudagrass monoculture by 11 to 61 g kg−1. The crude protein response of bermudagrass in mixtures to N was slight to nonsignificant. Increasing row spacing of alfalfa reduced grass crude protein by 9 to 23 g kg−1 and had no effect on alfalfa crude protein. Fiber fractions decreased slightly in grass with added N, but fiber in alfalfa was not influenced by any treatment. Yield of crude protein increased with N, particularly in bermudagrass monoculture, but interseeding alfalfa without N produced crude protein yields that usually exceeded those of bermudagrass monoculture at the 448 kg ha−1 N rate. Interseeded alfalfa, even at wide row spacings, appears to produce enough biological N to replace 448 kg fertilizer N ha− or more in the production of herbage protein in bermudagrass.
The presence of silica (SiO2) has been reported as significantly affecting the nutritional value of forages. This study was conducted to determine the SiO2 concentration in forage samples collected monthly from 2‐ha paddocks of ungrazed tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and ‘Coastal’ bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) as they matured, and to determine the monthly SiO2 concentrations of vegetative tall fescue, tall fescue‐‘Ladino’ clover (Trifolium repens L.), orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), orchardgrass‐Ladino clover, Coastal bermudagrass, and stockpiled tall fescue which were incorporated into four grazing systems. Samples representative of forage grazed by yearling beef heifers were collected monthly from caged areas to determine the SiO2 levels. The SiO2 concentrations ranged from 0.30 to 2.65% in dry matter and exhibited variations between species and from month to month within a given species. Silica accumulated rapidly in the forage tissue early in the growing season and thereafter concentrations remained relatively constant. Actively growing forages maintained in a vegetative state by grazing did not exhibit appreciable monthly differences in SiO2 concentration. Increases in SiO2 concentration were noted during winter dormancy. These results indicate the need for further study of the hypothesis that SiO2 can be used to reveal the nutritive value of a forage, particularly the nutritive value of grazed forages.
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