Forage Yield and Nutritive Value of Turf Bermudagrasses Managed to Simulate a Horse Pasture Management Scheme in the U.S. Upper Transition Zone

Abstract

Turf‐type bermudagrasses [Cynodon dactylon (Pers.) L.] with improved cold tolerance could have potential use in horse pastures of the U.S. Upper South for minimizing the damage to grass stands due to heavy trampling in these pastures; however, the dry matter (DM) yield potential and nutritive values of these bermudagrasses are not known. A small‐plot experiment was conducted for three growing seasons with monocultures of two turf‐type bermudagrasses (‘Yukon’ and ‘Riviera’), one forage‐type (‘Wrangler’), and four mixtures of the three (Wrangler × Yukon, Wrangler × Riviera, Yukon × Rivera, and Wrangler × Yukon × Riviera) to evaluate and compare DM yield, crude protein (CP), in vitro true digestibility (IVTD), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF). Although DM yield, averaged across seasons, for Wrangler was 31 and 40% greater than for Yukon and Riviera, yields were similar between Wrangler and Wrangler × Yukon mixture, and the three mixtures provided greater DM yields than either turf type alone. Crude protein, averaged across seasons, was similar between the turf types, and both had greater CP than Wrangler and the mixtures. Across treatments, IVTD, NDF, and ADF were similar among bermudagrass cultivars. Results of the experiment indicated that Yukon and Riviera bermudagrasses have acceptable nutritive value for horse pastures, but the Wrangler × Yukon mixture could serve as an option for heavier stocked pastures.