The suitability of cool- and warm-season annual cereal species for winter grazing in Saskatchewan

Abstract

S. M. 2007. The Suitability of cool-and warm-season annual cereal species for winter grazing in Saskatchewan. Can. J. Plant Sci. 87: 739-752. Winter grazing is a practice that can reduce feeding cost for cattle production. Current production has been utilizing traditional cool-season cereals for winter grazing. Warmseason (C 4 ) cereals also have the potential to be adapted to winter grazing in Saskatchewan. The objective of this study was to evaluate cool and warm season annual cereal species for adaptation, quality, and dry matter production in annual fall and winter grazing systems. Two seeding dates, nine treatments and two harvest times were used at sites across Saskatchewan over 3 yr. The crops in this trial have significant differences in maturity and dry matter yield. Seeding date did not consistently affect dry matter yield. Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] and sorghum-sudangrass [Sorghum bicolor (L.) × S. arundinaceum (Desv.) Stapf var. sudanense (Stapf) Hitchc.] had low dry matter yields and were poorly adapted to Saskatchewan. The proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) cultivar, Crown, and the foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) cultivars, Red Siberian and Golden German, had yields similar to oat (Avena sativa L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), but lower than high-input corn (Zea mays L.). Corn had dry matter yield that was similar to barley and oat but yield variability across sites and years was higher for corn. Delaying the harvest lowered the protein concentration of all the crops except pearl millet and sorghum-sudangrass. There were significant changes in acid detergent fibre (ADF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) due to a cultivar × harvest timing interaction. Weathering in the windrow until December did not significantly reduce the quality of the forage. Golden German foxtail millet is well adapted for swath grazing in eastern Saskatchewan. More data are required to determine its adaptability in central and western Saskatchewan and the adaptability of corn in all of Saskatchewan.

Annual cool season crops for grazing by beef cattle. A Canadian Review

“…Planting date had no consistent effect on nutritive value at time of harvest. May et al (2007) in Saskatchewan also found DM yield decrease in oat and barley with later seeding dates (mid-May vs. mid-June). The major implication was late planting reduced yield and increased the cost of digestible DM production.…”

“…Increased seeding rates (Walton 1975), DM yield (Berkenkamp and Meeres 1987), and effect of seeding date (May et al 2007) had no effect on CP concentration. Delayed harvest decreased CP yield ha…”

“…Barley suffered more severely in the dry weather and produced lower forage yields than oat (Anonymous 1924). As well, Robertson (1980), under grazing conditions, and May et al (2007) under single cut conditions, had barley yields equivalent to or greater than oat. May et al (2007) looked at seeding date and harvest date at various locations, and although the differences were small, when averaged over locations, barley out-yielded oat at either seeding and harvest date and again when averaged across seeding and harvest date (6790 vs. 6280 kg DM ha…”

Evaluation of Low Heat Unit Corn Hybrids Compared to Barley for Forage Yield and Quality on the Canadian Prairies

“…Corn (Zea mays L.) as a winter grazing crop for beef cattle has been more limited to the southern areas of eastern Canada, or southern areas of the prairies. Corn is a warm season annual, usually seeded late with variation in the date of maturity depending on the geographic location and available corn heat units (CHU) (May et al, 2007). However, early seeding of late maturing hybrids of corn has immense potential for use in extensive winter grazing systems (Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture [SMA], 2008).…”

The Effects of Different Nitrogen Doses on Yield and Some Traits of Foxtail Millet (Panicum italicum L.)

“…İkinci yılda ise vejetatif gelişme periyodu daha uzun olmuş, bitkiler daha fazla boylanmış ve ot verimleri daha yüksek bulunmuştur. Kanada'da kum darı, cin darı, yulaf ve arpa ile çalışan May et al (2007) Hassan et al (2000), değişik dozlarda azotlu gübre uygulanan cin darıda en yüksek bitki boyunu 4.5 kg N da -1 uygulamasında belirlemiş, yüksek azot dozunda bitki boyu artışı olmamıştır. Turgut et al (2006) da bu bitkide en yüksek bitki boyunu 6 kg N da -1 dozunda belirlenmişlerdir (66.6 cm).…”