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Title: ALFALFA AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO BERMUDAGRASS FOR SUMMER STOCKER CALF PASTURE IN THE SOUTHERN USA

Author
item Cassida, Kimberly
item HABY, VINCENT - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
item STEWART, C BRANDON - UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
item GUNTER, STACEY - UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

Submitted to: American Society of Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/8/2004
Publication Date: 11/30/2004
Citation: Cassida, K.A., Haby, V., Stewart, C., Gunter, S. 2004. Alfalfa as an alternative to bermudagrass for summer stocker calf pasture in the southern usa. In Agron. Abstr. [CD-ROM]. Amer. Soc. Agron., Madison, WI.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Deep-rooted alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) may support better stocker calf gains than bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylis (L.) Pers.] during hot, dry summers in the southern USA when bermudagrass yield and quality is typically poor. Stocker calves (Bos taurus x B. indicus) grazed each type of pasture on a coastal plain soil in 2000 and 2001 in southwest Arkansas. Alfalfa crown and stem counts declined steadily under unusually wet soil conditions during the study. Alfalfa yielded more early-season forage than bermudagrass but went dormant by mid-August, resulting in a late-season yield advantage for bermudagrass. Calf average daily gain and total gain per acre was similar across treatments, but alfalfa required fewer calendar grazing days than bermudagrass (76 vs. 114 d in 2000, 155 vs. 190 d in 2001) to make the same amount of gain. Bermudagrass provided more animal grazing days than alfalfa and required less management attention. Rapid maturation of alfalfa in summer made grazing at early flower stage difficult, especially when calves required removal from pastures to accommodate pesticide grazing restrictions or wet weather. Difficulties encountered in managing alfalfa for grazing could all have been countered had haying of over-mature paddocks been an option; therefore, effective grazing of alfalfa in the southern USA may require a dual grazing/hay production system.