Description
Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) is one of the earliest maturing pasture grasses utilized in the northeastern United States. However, wet springs can delay forage harvesting resulting in advanced forage maturity and reduction in nutritive value. Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is a tall, upright-growing forb that shows promise as a high-energy companion crop to orchardgrass and may delay orchardgrass maturity through shading effects on plant morphology. The objective of this study was to evaluate monocultures and mixtures of orchardgrass, chicory, and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) over two consecutive springs to determine the effects of species diversity on plant maturity, nutritive characteristics, and botanical composition of forage mass. Forage monocultures and mixtures were planted in central Pennsylvania in August 2018 and were observed for two years with three harvests occurring each year (one each in spring, summer, and fall). In the first spring, orchardgrass demonstrated nine days delay in maturity when grown with chicory as compared to when grown in monocultures or in orchardgrass-white clover mixtures. Although orchardgrass was at an earlier developmental stage, fiber concentrations were similar when grown with or without chicory. Additionally, in the first spring, orchardgrass mixtures containing chicory had 1.5x greater forage mass than orchardgrass monocultures and orchardgrass-white clover mixtures. Chicory biomass was low in the second spring, likely due to winterkill following a late fall harvest the previous year, resulting in a negligible effect on orchardgrass. However, orchardgrass-chicory-white clover mixtures (even with low amounts of chicory in the second year) had the greatest forage mass and nutritive value yield over both years, indicating that these mixtures can provide greater agronomic benefits than orchardgrass monocultures.
Included in
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Managing Interspecies Competition to Improve Spring Pasture
Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) is one of the earliest maturing pasture grasses utilized in the northeastern United States. However, wet springs can delay forage harvesting resulting in advanced forage maturity and reduction in nutritive value. Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is a tall, upright-growing forb that shows promise as a high-energy companion crop to orchardgrass and may delay orchardgrass maturity through shading effects on plant morphology. The objective of this study was to evaluate monocultures and mixtures of orchardgrass, chicory, and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) over two consecutive springs to determine the effects of species diversity on plant maturity, nutritive characteristics, and botanical composition of forage mass. Forage monocultures and mixtures were planted in central Pennsylvania in August 2018 and were observed for two years with three harvests occurring each year (one each in spring, summer, and fall). In the first spring, orchardgrass demonstrated nine days delay in maturity when grown with chicory as compared to when grown in monocultures or in orchardgrass-white clover mixtures. Although orchardgrass was at an earlier developmental stage, fiber concentrations were similar when grown with or without chicory. Additionally, in the first spring, orchardgrass mixtures containing chicory had 1.5x greater forage mass than orchardgrass monocultures and orchardgrass-white clover mixtures. Chicory biomass was low in the second spring, likely due to winterkill following a late fall harvest the previous year, resulting in a negligible effect on orchardgrass. However, orchardgrass-chicory-white clover mixtures (even with low amounts of chicory in the second year) had the greatest forage mass and nutritive value yield over both years, indicating that these mixtures can provide greater agronomic benefits than orchardgrass monocultures.
