Publication Date
1989
Description
Cool-season forage grasses have received less attention than other crops with regard to their sensitivity to acid precipitation even though they are especially well-adapted to portions of the eastern U.S.A. where acid precipitation with a pH less than 4.5 has been documented. Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is perhaps the most widely grown cool-season grass in the transition zone of the eastern U.S.A. where it occupies from 12 to 14 million hectares. Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) is also widely grown in the eastern U.S.A. Workers in Oregon, such as Cohen et al., 1982, have found few effects on forage yield or elemental composition of orchardgrass and tall fescue subjected to simulated acid precipitation. However, because of the importance of these grasses to forage ecosystems of the eastern U.S.A., a more comprehensive evaluation of the response of different cultivars to acid rain under conventional management in the humid temperate environment of this region was needed. The objective of this experiment was to study the relative sensitivities of orchardgrass and tall fescue cultivars in forage yield and quality to different levels of simulated acid rain in a field environment characteristic of the humid temperate eastern U.S.A.
Citation
Reynolds, J H. and Wolt, J D., "Forage Yield and Quality of Orchardgrass and Tall Fescue Under Simulated Acid Precipitation" (2025). IGC Proceedings (1989-2023). 52.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1989/session3b/52
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Forage Yield and Quality of Orchardgrass and Tall Fescue Under Simulated Acid Precipitation
Cool-season forage grasses have received less attention than other crops with regard to their sensitivity to acid precipitation even though they are especially well-adapted to portions of the eastern U.S.A. where acid precipitation with a pH less than 4.5 has been documented. Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is perhaps the most widely grown cool-season grass in the transition zone of the eastern U.S.A. where it occupies from 12 to 14 million hectares. Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) is also widely grown in the eastern U.S.A. Workers in Oregon, such as Cohen et al., 1982, have found few effects on forage yield or elemental composition of orchardgrass and tall fescue subjected to simulated acid precipitation. However, because of the importance of these grasses to forage ecosystems of the eastern U.S.A., a more comprehensive evaluation of the response of different cultivars to acid rain under conventional management in the humid temperate environment of this region was needed. The objective of this experiment was to study the relative sensitivities of orchardgrass and tall fescue cultivars in forage yield and quality to different levels of simulated acid rain in a field environment characteristic of the humid temperate eastern U.S.A.
