403-7 Pasture, Hay and Biofuel Harvest Management of Dacotah Switchgrass, Pete Eastern Gamagrass and Osage Indiangrass Grown Under Irrigation.
Poster Number 633
See more from this Division: C06 Forage and GrazinglandsSee more from this Session: Forage and Grazinglands: Poster III
All main effects and many interactions were significant. Greatest interaction responses were grasses × harvest treatment and harvesting years × harvest treatment. Grasses and harvest management treatment were the most important main affect. Osage Indiangrass produced higher yields from biofuel harvests (16 Mg DM ha-1 yr-1) than Dacotah switchgrass (6 DM ha-1 yr-1) or Pete eastern gamagrass (6 Mg DM ha-1 yr-1). Pasture or pasture – hay harvest management for all grasses was lower yielding (range: 2-3 Mg DM ha-1 yr-1) than other harvest treatments (range: 5-9 Mg DM ha-1 yr-1). Hay – pasture and hay – biofuel harvest treatments generally produced more biomass than pasture only or pasture – hay but less than biofuel only. The 2003 planting produced more biomass by grass and harvest treatment than 2005 because it had one additional growing season to develop a fully productive stand. These results suggest producers have options for grass utilization if the biofuel industry will not purchase cellulosic feedstocks.
See more from this Session: Forage and Grazinglands: Poster III