Seasonal distribution of herbage mass and nutritive value of Prairiegrass (Bromus catharticus Vahl)

Abstract A reliable supply of herbage is a crucial feature of forage‐based livestock systems. Forage resources with winter‐active growth habits can help extend the growing season in early spring and late autumn in regions with mild‐winter conditions while drought‐ and heat‐tolerant plants help meet herbage needs during summer in humid temperate regions. The prairiegrass ( Bromus catharticus , Vahl) cultivars, Grassland Dixon and Grasslands Lakota, provide resistance to foliar disease and cold in addition to sustained productivity when soil moisture is low, and could be useful over a wide range of growing conditions. The cultivars were sown in spring or summer to determine seasonal distribution of productivity and nutritive value of herbage grown in a cool‐temperate region. Stands established rapidly regardless of sowing time or cultivar and were virtually pure prairiegrass once plants were well‐established. Stand composition of broadcast sowings tended to be stable in subsequent growing seasons, whereas the amount of prairiegrass varied in no‐till stands. In the growing seasons after establishment, cumulative dry matter (DM) yield of Lakota was similar regardless of when it was sown, whereas DM yield of Dixon differed with sowing time and was less in spring‐ than summer‐planted stands. Rapid stand establishment, significant late‐season yield, consistent concentrations of crude protein, non‐structural carbohydrate and total digestible nutrients in herbage, and dominance of sward composition, suggest that prairiegrass cultivars, Dixon and Lakota, are excellent resources for forage‐based livestock production systems in humid temperate conditions.