Forage Yield and Quality in a Great Basin Shrub, Grass, and Legume Pasture Experiment

Abstract

A study was conducted in central Utah to determine the forage and protein yield relationships among the components of grass-shrub-legume plantings in a semiarid rangeland pasture. Forage and protein yields of crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) and total herbage increased when fourwing saltbush shrubs (Atriplex canescens) or legumes (Astragalus cicer, A. falcatus, or Medicago sativa) were grown in association. The shrub and legume species directly contributed to the increase in these yields and to more rapid regrowth of crested wheatgrass.