Interplanting crested wheatgrass with shrubs and alfalfa: Effects of competition and preferential clipping
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Authors: B. M. Pendery, and F. D. Provenza
Date: 1987
Journal: Journal of Range Management
Volume: 40
Number: 6
Pages: 514-520
Summary of Methods: Pendery and Provenza measured the effects of interseeding 3 shrub species and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) with crested wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum), in order to determine if this management practice could be utilized to increase the value of crested wheatgrass monocultures for livestock and wildlife. Annual growth of crested wheatgrass declined when other species were added to the pastures, however, shrubs produced little annual growth while alfalfa produced large quantities of annual growth, suggesting that shrubs were not able to compete with crested wheatgrass as well as alfalfa. Clipping alfalfa and crested wheatgrass increased annual yield of all plants and increased the number of flowering branches on shrubs, indicating that shrub development and growth was being limited somewhat by competition with these other species. The results of the study indicated that seeding alfalfa and a shrub species with crested wheatgrass could increase the forage yield and possibly the forage quality in crested wheatgrass pastures, however, they believe that shrub performance could be enhanced by reducing competition with other species and planting small patches of shrubs rather than interseeded them throughout the pasture.
Article Summary / Main Points: None
Vegetation Types:
MLRA Ecoregions:
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: plant interference, preferential grazing, range seeding, crested wheatgrass, agropyron desertorum, big sagebrush, artemisia tridentata, kochia, kochia prostrata, fourwing saltbush, atriplex canescens, alfalfa, medicago sativa
Annotation: Grass and alfalfa plants were clipped one time between May 28th and June 4th to a stubble height of 5 cm and at the end of the growing season (September 12-20).
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