Influence of Time of Harvest on Yield of Dry Matter and Predicted Digestibility of Four Forage Grasses1

Synopsis First harvest yields of orchardgrass, perennial ryegrass, and tall fescue increased at nearly uniform rates up to full bloom and rose relatively little after that. Timothy had the same growth rate, but extended over a longer time. It outyielded other species at heading and flowering stages. Most uniform seasonal distribution of pasture yield was provided by ryegrass and timothy. Digestible dry matter of each species, predicted by the regressions of other investigators, was maximum at full bloom.