Irrigation Impact on Harvest Efficiency in Grazed Old World Bluestem

Teague, W.R.; Dowhower, S.L.

doi:10.2307/4003132

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…On the other hand, the increase in tiller numbers for irrigated treatments can be attributed to adequate water supply that enhanced tiller recruitment. These findings are contrary to those of Teague and Dowhower ( 2002 ) working on Bothriochloa ischaemum under rainfed and rainfed plus 25 mm/week of supplementary irrigation. They reported soil moisture content had no effects on tiller numbers.…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 99%

Irrigation levels affects biomass yields and morphometric characteristics of range grasses in arid rangelands of Kenya

et al. 2016

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Background Production of range grasses under irrigation has been widely adopted in the arid environments of Kenya as a strategy for seasonal forage supply gap. However, their productivity has only been done under conventional methods without an evaluation of their performance at varied soil moisture conditions. This information is needed for making sustainable management of irrigation water and also increased pasture productivity at the current intensification of the production systems.MethodsAboveground biomass of six rangeland grasses (Chloris roxburghiana, Eragrostis superba, Enteropogon macrostachyus, Cenchrus ciliaris, Chloris gayana, and Sorghum sudanense) in pure and mixed stands at 80, 50 and 30 % soil moisture field capacity (FC), and control under rainfed as main plots. The main plots were divided into 30 subplots and randomly allocated ten grass species in three replicates. The moisture content was monitored by gypsum blocks which aided in irrigation times and levels. Seeds were sown by broadcast method in tractor ploughed and harrowed to fine tilt land. Biomass and growth morphometric characteristics were measured at phenological growth stages of 10, 12 and 14 weeks, representing vegetative stage, flowering and seed setting and mature with ripened seed stages for the studied range grasses.ResultsAll the irrigated treatment yielded significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher above ground dry matter than the rainfed. S. sudanense had the highest yields at 80 % FC (13.7 t ha−1), though not significantly different from the 50 and 30 % FC (11.6 and 7.7 t ha−1), respectively. C. gayana and C. roxbhurghiana yields were not significantly affected by changes in soil moisture content with yields ranging between 10.1 and 10.8 t ha−1. C. ciliaris performed better at 50 % FC (9.1 t ha−1). Differences in tiller numbers across the watering treatments and grass species were not significant, but very low under rainfed conditions. The tiller heights in all the species were lower under rainfed than irrigated treatments. S. sudanense had the highest tiller height and biomass followed by C. gayana and E. Macrostachyus, respectively.ConclusionHere we demonstrate that the production of range pastures under irrigation in the arid environments should consider individual species’ responses to different soil moisture content for better yields and water conservation. The results show the species of importance for consideration under irrigation systems are S. sudanense and C. gayana.

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Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 99%

Irrigation levels affects biomass yields and morphometric characteristics of range grasses in arid rangelands of Kenya

et al. 2016

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“…Stand maturity may have affected Caucasian bluestem. Results with another Bothriochola (5) suggest winter tiller survival may have been reduced by low soil moisture. Reasons for the poor performance of Wrangler and Red River at the Southern Piedmont site are not clear; both forages have performed well in other research at that site (6).…”

Section: Southern Piedmont Sitementioning

confidence: 98%

Warm-Season Grass Production Responses to Site and Defoliation Frequency

Fike

Teutsch

Ward

2005

Forage & Grazinglands

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Seasonal yield of ‘Midland 99,’ ‘Ozark,’ ‘Quickstand,’ ‘Tifton 44,’ and ‘Wrangler’ bermudagrasses (Cynodon dactylon L.); Caucasian bluestem (Bothriochloa caucasica Trin.); and ‘Red River’ crabgrass (Digitaria ciliaris Retz.) were compared with ‘Kentucky‐31’ and ‘Jesup Max‐Q’ tall fescues (Festuca arundinacea Schreb). Forages were established in two geographically and climatologically distinct regions of Virginia. The Ridge/Valley site is near Blacksburg (elevation 1772 ft) and the Southern Piedmont site is near Blackstone (elevation 446 ft). Two‐, 4‐, and 6‐week cutting frequencies were imposed. Although not always significant, the trend was for yield to increase as cutting frequency decreased. There were year W site W frequency x forage interactions. Tall fescues had the greatest yield in the Ridge/Valley but were intermediate in the Southern Piedmont. High yields of Midland 99 and Tifton 44 at the Southern Piedmont site suggest sprigged hybrids have potential for the region. Seeded warm‐season perennials (Caucasian bluestem or Wrangler bermudagrass) would likely have greater utility for the Ridge/Valley. Warm‐season grasses have potential to boost forage system output across diverse regions within the transition zone but attention to species and cultivar selection is needed.

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Effect of Varied Soil Moisture Content on Seed Yield of Six Range Grasses in the Rangelands of Kenya

Koech¹,

Kinuthia²,

Mureithi³

et al. 2014

ujar

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Seed yields of six range grass species grown at 80, 50 and 30% field capacity (FC) soil moisture content and rain fed condition were evaluated. The grasses included Chloris roxburghiana, Eragrostis superba, Enteropogon macrostachyus, Cenchrus ciliaris, Chloris gayana and Sorghum sudanense (Sudan grass). Watered treatments had higher seed yields compared to rain fed for all the grasses. Chloris roxburghiana had higher seed yields at 50 and 30 % FC (516.1 and 633.4 kg ha -1 , respectively), and lower yields at 80% FC and rain fed treatment (103 and 54.3 kg ha -1 , respectively). Eragrostis superba and Enteropogon macrostachyus showed no difference in seed yields across watered. Cenchrus ciliaris had no significant difference among watered and rain fed. Chloris gayana produced higher seed yields at 30% FC (1066.8 kg ha -1 ) while 80 and 50% FC and rain fed having 766.9, 866.8 and 123.7 kg ha -1 , respectively. The highest yield was observed in Sorghum sudanense at 80% FC and was different (p≤0.05) from the others (1250 kg ha -1 ), with 50, 30% FC and rain fed having 700.5, 533.9 and 150.7 kg ha -1 , respectively. Sorghum sudanense was highest yielder under rain fed (150.7 kg ha -1 ) with least being Cenchrus ciliaris (21.8 kg ha -1 ). Chloris gayana and Sorghum sudanense have demonstrated potential higher seed yielders under lower moisture supply.

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Irrigation Impact on Harvest Efficiency in Grazed Old World Bluestem

Cited by 3 publications

References 19 publications

Irrigation levels affects biomass yields and morphometric characteristics of range grasses in arid rangelands of Kenya

Irrigation levels affects biomass yields and morphometric characteristics of range grasses in arid rangelands of Kenya

Warm-Season Grass Production Responses to Site and Defoliation Frequency

Effect of Varied Soil Moisture Content on Seed Yield of Six Range Grasses in the Rangelands of Kenya

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