Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Baldwin, Brian S.

Committee Member

Rude, Brian J.

Committee Member

Rushing, J. Brett

Committee Member

McCurdy, James D.

Date of Degree

8-14-2015

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Agronomy

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Department

Department of Plant and Soil Sciences

Abstract

Tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus), is a cool season perennial that provides grazing into the early summer months for southern livestock. Grazing the tall fescue variety, Kentucky-31, has negative effects on animal health, particularly after jointing. Two studies were arranged as randomized complete blocks in a split-plot design, with three replicates to compare: the effect of ten herbicides on seedhead suppression, or the effect of inter-seeding legumes [white clover (Trifolium repens) or alfafla (Medicago sativa)] coupled with nitrogen supplementation on fescue yield and forage nutritive value. The herbicides imazethapyr + 2,4-D and without, metsulfuron + chlorsulfuron, reduced seedheads emergence, but not yield compared to the control. Kentucky-31 inter-seeded with white clover and fertilized with 11 kg N ha-1 produced greater biomass than tall fescue fertilized with 11 kg N ha-1. The inter-seeding of white clover produced composite forage samples with greater in vitro dry matter disappearance than nitrogen supplemented alfalfa.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/20056

Comments

Tall fescue||white clover||alfalfa||endophyte||Neutral detergent fiber||acid detergent fiber||crude protein||pasture herbicides||seedhead suppression||nitrogen supplementation

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