Project Title:

2022 Cool Season Forage Trial

Objective:

To test for yield and quality of selected cool-season forage grasses.

Personnel:

J.A. Torrion, Daniel Porter

Summary:

The cool-season perennial forage species were planted on April 22, 2020 (see management table 1 for details). Data from fourteen grass forages species were gathered for this third year of establishment in 2022. There were two harvest cuts this year. The total yield for 2022 ranged from 2.0 ton/A (Ryegrass-Remington NEA2) to 3.6 ton/A (Dryland mix-Barricade raw). All forage species had statistically similar forage yields (Table 2). This year’s harvest showed plant vitality decreasing compared with the year 2021. The forage quality data for the first cut this year are also shown in Table 2, with no observed statistical differences among the species.

Table 1. Management Information

Seeding date:    

 4/22/2020 Field Location: P2
Julian date: 113 Harvest date: 6/7/22, 6/16/22, 9/7/22
Seeding rate: Variety-dependent Julian date: 158, 167, 252
Previous crop: Winter Wheat Soil type: Creston Silt Loam
Herbicide: None in 2022 Tillage: Conventional
Insecticide: N/A Soil residual nutrient: (NO3-, P, K lb/A): 122-20-376 (Fall, 2019)
Fungicide: N/A Nutrient fertilizer applied: (N, P2O5, K20 lb/A): 84-10-35-10(S) [2020] 50 lbs N was reapplied [2021] 50 lbs N was reapplied [2022]

Table 2. Third year of establishment (2022) total dry biomass yields and forage qualities of the first cut 

Brand Variety Total YLD (t/A) CP (%) RFV RFQ Lignin (%) Fat (%) NFC (%) WSC (%)
Barricade raw Dryland mix 3.6 10.8 95.3 138.3 3.5 2.3 20.3 10.5
Arsenal Meadow brome 3.2 10.7 100.3 149.7 2.9 2.4 23.2 11.6
Armory Dryland tall fescue 3.0 10.9 94 141.3 3.2 2.1 20.1 10.7
Milkway Tall fescue/meadow fescue mix 2.8 10.5 98.3 144 2.8 2.0 21.8 10.9
HLR Orchardgrass 2.8 10.2 99.7 143.7 3.0 2.3 22.8 11.6
Remington Perennial ryegrass 2.7 9.4 102 152.7 2.4 2.2 25.2 13.0
STF-43 Tall fescue 2.7 10.8 100.3 151 2.5 2.1 22.1 11.7
Driftless Meadow fescue 2.6 12.1 96 150 3.0 2.1 19.7 10.1
Artillery Smooth brome 2.4 10.9 101.3 154 2.6 2.3 23.3 11.4
Hamann Creeping wheatgrass 2.3 10.2 100.7 143 3.2 2.3 22.7 11.8
HDR Meadow fescue 2.3 9.6 104.7 152.7 2.4 2.1 26.0 13.3
Barricade w/Yellow Jacket Dryland mix 2.2 9.2 106.7 146.7 2.8 2.2 26.2 13.2
Ammo Dryland orchardgrass 2.2 10.0 117 162.3 2.3 2.7 28.9 14.3
Remington NEA2 Perennial ryegrass 2.0 9.7 95.3 139 3.3 2.1 21.9 11.8
  Mean 2.6 10.4 100.8 147.7 2.8 2.2 23.2 11.9
  CV 27.8 15.0 11.2 10.2 26.5 12.4 20.2 17.1
  LSD ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns
  PR > F 0.452 0.724 0.637 0.837 0.743 0.457 0.528 0.436

YLD: yield, CP: crude protein, RFV: relative feed value, RFQ: relative forage quality, NFC: non-fibrous carbohydrate, WSC: water-soluble carbohydrate