Alternatives to Timothy Grown in Mixture with Alfalfa in Quebec.

In Quebec, the main forage grass species cultivated with alfalfa is timothy, yet its regrowth under drought conditions is poor. This project evaluates six binary mixtures of grasses and alfalfa at three contrasted sites in the province of Quebec (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, and Normandin) to find alternatives to timothy in the context of climate change. Six binary mixtures of alfalfa associated with timothy, tall fescue, meadow fescue, perennial ryegrass, festulolium or meadow bromegrass were seeded in a randomized complete block design with 3 replicates at each site. Plots were either harvested at the early bud or early flower stages of alfalfa, and the dry matter yield and yield contribution of each component (alfalfa, grass, others) were determined at each harvest. Nutritive attributes were also determined. Our results demonstrate that the alfalfa-timothy mixture performs relatively well across Quebec. Tall fescue, meadow fescue, and meadow bromegrass in binary mixtures with alfalfa would be possible alternatives to timothy since they have comparable seasonal yields and nutritive value, and the yield contribution of these grasses remains favorable over the two first production years. The cultivars of festulolium and perennial ryegrass used in this project have a lower performance than the other grass species and therefore might not be viable alternatives to timothy in Quebec. A third production year is required to complete the evaluation of these grasses’ potential.