Forages: Perennial Species

Excerpt from Agronomy Guide for Field Crops (Chapter 5)

Order OMAFRA Publication 811: Agronomy Guide for Field Crops

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Perennial Legumes
   • Alfalfa
   • Birdsfoot Trefoil
   • Red Clover
   • White Clover
   • Sweet Clover
   • Alsike Clover
   • Kura Clover
3. Perennial Grasses
   • Timothy
   • Smooth Bromegrass
   • Meadow Bromegrass
   • Orchardgrass
   • Reed Canarygrass
   • Tall Fescue
   • Meadow Foxtail
   • Creeping Red Fescue
   • Meadow Fescue
   • Perennial Ryegrass
   • Bluegrass
4. Characterestics of Perennial Forage Species Grown in Ontario - Table 5.1
5. Updates of Forages: Perennial Species
6. Related links...

Introduction

Forages are a major Ontario crop, using over one-third of Ontario's improved land. Hay and haylage are grown on 1,012,000 ha (2,500,000 ac), while there are 364,000 ha (900,000 ac) of seeded pasture and 648,000 ha (1,600,000 ac) of natural pasture. There are approximately 121,000 ha (300,000 ac) of corn silage grown in Ontario, which is 14% of the corn crop. The value of forage production is estimated to be approximately $800 million or about 10% of the agricultural production in Ontario.

Forages, by definition, are whole plants used to feed livestock. They are an important component of crop rotations on many farms, and their benefit has been demonstrated by numerous research trials and by grower experience.

Crop management is more complex with forages than with many other crops, for several reasons:

• Forage usually consists of a mixture of different species.
• Forage may be used as either stored feed or pasture.
• There is a wide range of harvest and storage systems used.

Perennial crops require management for over-wintering.

For information on corn silage production, see the section Selecting Hybrids for Silage. Information on corn silage harvest and storage is discussed in the section Haylage and Corn Silage. For more detailed information on pasture, refer to OMAFRA Publication 19, Pasture Production. (Order Publication 19, Pasture Production)

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Perennial Legumes

| Alfalfa | Birdsfoot Trefoil | Red Clover | White Clover | Sweet Clover | Alsike Clover | Kura Clover |

Most legumes grown for forages have taproots and broad, compound leaves (composed of a number of leaflets) that are arranged alternately on the stem. New shoots originate from the crown of the plant, and the growing point of each shoot is located at the top of the shoot. As a family, legumes produce higher quantities of protein than grasses.

If properly inoculated, legumes have the capacity to use atmospheric nitrogen, eliminating the need to apply nitrogen from commercial sources. Legumes also supply a considerable amount of nitrogen to the grass portion of the mixture.

Alfalfa

Alfalfa is the highest-yielding perennial forage crop grown in Ontario and the most frequently grown forage legume. It produces more protein per unit area than other forage legumes and can be grown alone or in combination with a grass species. For high yields and persistence, alfalfa requires well-drained soil, a pH above 6.1, adequate fertility and the proper harvest management. Well-managed alfalfa normally persists for 3 or more years. The protein and energy levels of alfalfa-based forage are determined by stage of growth at the time of cutting. Alfalfa has a critical fall harvest period that should be observed to avoid winterkill. Characteristics

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Birdsfoot Trefoil

Birdsfoot trefoil is a non-bloating legume best suited for permanent pasture situations. It is well adapted to steep or stony land that should not be cultivated, because birdsfoot trefoil will reseed itself. Although individual plants live for only a few years, stands of birdsfoot trefoil have remained productive for 10 or more years when allowed to go to seed. It is also adapted to soils with marginal drainage. Birdsfoot trefoil has a lower yield potential and is more difficult to dry than alfalfa, so it is recommended for hay production only in areas where alfalfa will not grow well. Because birdsfoot trefoil seedlings are slow to establish, it will usually take at least a year to get a satisfactory stand. Birdsfoot trefoil, like alfalfa, has a critical fall harvest period, beginning about 10 days earlier than alfalfa at the same location. Characteristics

Red Clover

Red clover is a short-lived perennial. Yields are good the year after establishment but are often quite low the following year, especially in southern Ontario. It can be grown in fields that are too wet or acidic for alfalfa. When seeded in mixtures, red clover can suppress the establishment of other legumes. As a feed crop, red clover is most often stored as silage since it is difficult to dry, resulting in "dusty" or "mouldy" hay.

There are two general types of red clover grown in Ontario: double-cut or "medium" red clover and single-cut or "mammoth" red clover. Double-cut will flower in the seeding year, with vigorous regrowth after cutting. Single-cut is slower growing and matures about 2 weeks later than double-cut. Single-cut does not flower in the seeding year or after the first cut in succeeding years.

Use of red clover as a plowdown has become an important practice on many farms. See the section Red Clover, for information on the use of red clover as a cover crop. Characteristics

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White Clover

White clover is used mainly in pastures. It is a short-lived perennial that can reseed itself. There are three general types of white clover: ladino, white dutch and small wild white. All three are similar in appearance but differ in size, with wild white being the smallest and ladino the largest. All have stolons, which are stems that creep on the ground, with branches that are erect or upward slanting. Roots are shallow and fibrous and develop from nodes of the creeping stolons. White clover has low tolerance to drought but is relatively tolerant to frequent grazing and has good palatability. White clover can be frost seeded or no-tilled into existing grass pastures to improve forage quality and yield. Characteristics

Sweet Clover

Sweet clover is a slow-growing biennial often used to alleviate compaction. Sweet clover does not flower in the year of establishment. In the spring of the second year, it grows quickly to become a tall, coarse-stemmed plant. The presence of coumarin in sweet clover makes it less palatable to livestock.

There are two types: white-flowered and yellow-flowered. White sweet clover is deeper rooted, taller and coarser, which makes it more suitable for plowdown than for forage. The yellow-flowered is more palatable to livestock and more attractive to bees. Mouldy sweet clover hay may contain dicoumarol, which can prevent normal blood clotting and result in the death of livestock from bleeding. Characteristics

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Alsike Clover

Alsike clover is a perennial although it is often treated as a biennial. It can grow on soils that are acidic and poorly drained. Alsike produces only one cut of hay per year and is not normally a preferred forage legume. Alsike clover can cause photosensitivity and liver damage in horses, so it should not be included in horse hay or pasture mixtures. Characteristics

Kura Clover

Kura clover is a pasture legume relatively new to Ontario. Kura clover has poor seedling vigour and is difficult to establish. However, once established, kura clover is very persistent, winter-hardy and can tolerate less-than-ideal drainage, fertility, pH and grazing management. It spreads by underground stems called rhizomes, has an extensive root system and thickens with time. Proper seedbed preparation and seeding methods are important. Kura clover must be inoculated with the correct strain of Rhizobium bacteria. Characteristics

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Perennial Grasses

Grasses have many long, slender leaves that are borne on a stem. They have very fibrous roots that help bind the soil together, thereby reducing erosion. Some grasses have rhizomes or underground stems that produce new shoots at each node. Grasses with rhizomes are capable of thickening up a stand. Grasses without rhizomes are known as bunch grasses.

Grass species differ in their competitiveness with legumes. This will influence the grass-legume ratio of an established stand. Grasses such as orchardgrass and the ryegrasses tend to be more competitive with alfalfa than timothy or bromegrass. Grasses are lower in protein than legumes when cut at a similar stage of development.

Timothy

Timothy is the most widely sown forage grass in Ontario and is commonly grown in mixtures with alfalfa or birdsfoot trefoil. It is a bunchgrass with limited tillering ability, which makes it non-aggressive when sown with other species. It is easy to establish in early spring or late summer and is adapted to heavier soils and variable drainage. Timothy is palatable and high yielding in first cut. Regrowth after first cut and mid-season production is not as high as that from either bromegrass or orchardgrass. Characteristics

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Smooth Bromegrass

Smooth bromegrass is an earlier, more aggressive grass than timothy. Better drought tolerance results in more regrowth in second cut. It spreads by rhizomes, and the stand can thicken over time. Smooth bromegrass is palatable and tends to retain its nutritional value with increasing maturity better than most grasses. Its major drawback tends to be its large fluffy seed, which makes it difficult to seed through the small seed box of drills. It does not establish well if it is either surface seeded or seeded deeper than 5 cm. Characteristics

Meadow Bromegrass

Meadow bromegrass is useful as a pasture species because of its early spring growth and faster recovery rates after grazing. It is best used in rotational grazing. Characteristics

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Orchardgrass

Orchardgrass develops earlier and is much more aggressive than either timothy or bromegrass. It is palatable when young but loses palatability and digestibility more quickly than other grasses. Orchardgrass will grow much more vigorously in the warm, dry conditions of midsummer than timothy or bromegrass, resulting in a greater proportion of grass in the second and third cutting of alfalfa-grass mixtures. Orchardgrass is not as winterhardy as either timothy or bromegrass and will not persist on wet soils. Its aggressive seedlings make orchardgrass easy to establish. It is recommended in intensively managed pastures or as very early cut haylage. Characteristics

Reed Canarygrass

Reed canarygrass has rhizomes and is best known for its ability to tolerate poorly drained soils. It can, however, provide high yields on well-drained or even droughty soils. Reed canarygrass spreads by rhizomes, develops coarse stems and leaves and quickly loses palatability and digestibility once it heads. Reed canarygrass is slow to establish and is not competitive in the year of seeding.

In the past, livestock have performed poorly on reed canarygrass because of certain alkaloids it contained. Recommended reed canarygrass varieties are free of the tryptomine and carboline alkaloids, which cause poor performance. Some varieties are lower in the gramine alkaloids that reduce palatability, intake and animal performance. Characteristics

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Tall Fescue

Tall fescue is a coarse, leafy grass that is useful in long-term pastures and in erosion control. It is adapted to most soil types, tolerates imperfect drainage and withstands animal traffic well. Its ability to maintain good feed quality into late fall makes it useful in "stockpile grazing." A seed-borne systemic fungus (an endophyte) has been linked to poor animal performance on tall fescue pasture. Once introduced by infected seed, the fungus cannot be controlled in an established stand of tall fescue. All recommended varieties are endophyte-free. Characteristics

Meadow Foxtail

Meadow foxtail is a long-lived perennial grass that resembles timothy in appearance and is suitable for intensive pasture management. It performs well on poorly drained soils, has very early spring growth and matures very early. Midsummer production during periods of high temperature and drought may be low. Its seed is light, fluffy and hairy; coated seed should be used. Characteristics

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Creeping Red Fescue

Creeping red fescue is a dense, sod-forming grass that establishes and spreads vigorously on most soil types, including well-fertilized subsoils. Its solid root system and thick, fine top growth make creeping red fescue an excellent grass for streambank or grass waterway protection. It can also serve as a bottom grass in long-term pastures and is noted for its extended growth period and retained nutritional value in the fall. Its low-growing habit makes it difficult to cut and unsuitable for hay. Characteristics

Meadow Fescue

Meadow fescue is a hardy grass used in hay and pasture mixtures. It grows best on deep, fertile soils but will tolerate variable drainage and low fertility. Meadow fescue yields well during the summer and fall and maintains its feed quality later into the season than most grass species. Meadow fescue is shorter and has finer leaves and a shallower root system than tall fescue and is not as persistent. Characteristics

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Perennial Ryegrass

Perennial ryegrass is a short-lived perennial that comes in turf-, pasture- and hay-adapted varieties. The pasture-adapted varieties tend to have finer leaves and smaller and more numerous tillers, and are later maturity than the hay varieties. Perennial ryegrass is early and vigorous in the spring, and grows well into the fall, but is unproductive during the hot, dry summer months. Winterkill is promoted by excessive top growth going into the winter. Perennial ryegrass may winterkill in alfalfa mixtures that are left to overwinter with considerable fall growth. Perennial ryegrass is not well adapted to areas with prolonged ice cover and extreme cold without adequate snow cover. Characteristics

Bluegrass

In Ontario, two common bluegrasses, Canada and Kentucky, are grown on approximately 1 million ha of permanent pastureland. In southern Ontario, the shallow-rooted bluegrasses produce lush, palatable growth during the spring but are unproductive during the dry, hot summer. When properly fertilized and managed, bluegrass production can be markedly improved, especially in the cooler climate of northern Ontario. In pastures, they serve as a bottom grass that controls weed invasion, withstands close grazing and tramping, and fills in when other species thin out. Characteristics

Table 5-1. Characteristics of Perennial Forage Species Grown in Ontario, summarizes the characteristics of each perennial forage species grown in Ontario.

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Updates on Forages: Perennial Species

No updates available at this time.

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Related links...

• Forages
• OMAFRA Publication 19, Pasture Production

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