Cutting frequency and cutting height effects on rough fescue and parry oat grass yields
Author
Willms, W. D.Issue Date
1991-01-01Keywords
festuca scabrella var. campestrisFestuca altaica
clipping
danthonia parryi
Danthonia
Alberta
cutting frequency
regrowth
growth rate
crop yield
defoliation
grazing
simulation
forage
plant height
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Willms, W. D. (1991). Cutting frequency and cutting height effects on rough fescue and Parry oat grass yields. Journal of Range Management, 44(1), 82-86.Publisher
Society for Range ManagementJournal
Journal of Range ManagementDOI
10.2307/4002645Additional Links
https://rangelands.org/Abstract
A study was made in the Rough Fescue Grasslands of southwestern Alberta to determine the yield response of rough fescue (Festuca scabrella var campestris Rydb.) and Parry oat grass (Danthonia parryi Scribn.) to 5 cutting frequencies and 3 heights over a 1-year period. The same plants were cut either 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 times over a 16-week period beginning in mid-May, at 16-, 8-, 4-, 2-, or 1-week intervals, respectively, and at heights of either 5, 10, or 15 cm above ground level. Yield response to cutting treatments differed significantly from the flrst to the third treatment year. In the first year, rough fescue and Parry oat grass produced most forage when cut at a height of 5 cm with 1, 2, or 4 cuts. By the third year, rough fescue produced the greatest yields with a single cut after 16 weeks and Parry oat grass produced the greatest yields when cut at 10 or 15 cm at 1-week intervals. The data confirm the high sensitivity of rough fescue to grazing while the plant is growing and suggest that the greatest benefit from the Rough Fescue Grasslands may be derived by grazing in fall or winter. Summer grazing favors Parry oatgrass, which is more tolerant than rough fescue, but forage production on the grassland is reduced.Type
textArticle
Language
enISSN
0022-409Xae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.2307/4002645