Defoliation Management of Bahiagrass Germplasm Affects Cover and Persistence-Related Responses

Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flügge) cultivars are valued for their persistence under grazing and low management inputs. However, they are daylength-sensitive and have minimal cool-season production, resulting in high winter feeding costs in forage-based livestock systems. New germplasm is less dayl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agronomy journal 2009-11, Vol.101 (6), p.1381-1387
Main Authors: Interrante, S.M, Sollenberger, L.E, Blount, A.R, Coleman, S.W, White, U.R, Liu, K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Biological and medical sciences
carbohydrate content
cold tolerance
cultivars
Defoliation
dry matter partitioning
forage grasses
frequency
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Generalities. Genetics. Plant material
Genetic resources, diversity
Genetics and breeding of economic plants
germplasm
grazing
harvest date
height
nitrogen
Paspalum notatum
pasture management
pasture plants
pastures
perennials
photoperiod
Plant material
regrowth
vegetation cover
vegetation persistence
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Summary:Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flügge) cultivars are valued for their persistence under grazing and low management inputs. However, they are daylength-sensitive and have minimal cool-season production, resulting in high winter feeding costs in forage-based livestock systems. New germplasm is less daylength-sensitive, possesses greater cold tolerance, and is more productive during the cool season, but its persistence under defoliation is unknown. A field experiment quantified cover and persistence-related responses of photoperiod-sensitive bahiagrass (diploids ‘Pensacola’ and ‘Tifton 9’ and tetraploids ‘Argentine’ and Tifton 7) and a less photoperiod-sensitive, cold-adapted (PCA) diploid bahiagrass (Cycle 4) at two stubble heights (4 and 8 cm) and two harvest frequencies (7 and 21 d). Argentine cover was unaffected by defoliation treatments, but harvesting every 7 d to 4 cm for 3 yr resulted in
ISSN:0002-1962
1435-0645
DOI:10.2134/agronj2009.0126