Short Communication: Stocker cattle performance from grazed mixtures of triticale and wheat with annual ryegrass

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective The objective of this experiment was to determine productivity, forage quality, and stocker performance from triticale and wheat with annual ryegrass using adjustable stocking densities in response to changing forage availability. Materials and Methods A 2-yr experiment was conducted to evaluate triticale (T), wheat (W), and annual ryegrass (RG) in mixtures. Six 1.42-ha paddocks of T + RG, W + RG, and T + W + RG (2 paddocks per treatment) were planted and initially stocked with 4 yearling crossbred beef steers per paddock. Forage allowance was maintained at 1 kg of DM/kg of steer BW using the put-and-take method. Destructive forage samples were taken at 2-wk intervals to determine forage mass and nutritive value. Results and Discussion Suboptimal early-season growing conditions in yr 2 contributed to decreased mean forage mass (P 0.10) among treatments. Mean forage IVDMD (90.9 ± 0.84%) and concentrations of CP (19.5 ± 0.85%) and cell-wall constituents were not different (P > 0.10) among treatments. Implications and Applications Binary mixtures of W and T with RG were comparable, and the ternary mixture offered no advantage over binary mixtures for beef production from winter grazing of these forage species.