Forage Research Report, No. 4

Cooperating with the Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agricultur

Lawn Weeds in Alaska

Many different kinds of plants usually grow in close association with each other in nature. Woodlands, roadsides, mountain slopes, marshlands-almost all places not closely attended by man have their own complex plant associations. A lawn comprised of only one or a few grass species is an unnatural, artificial situation. Accordingly, lawns can be kept attractive only by diligent efforts to eliminate undesirable plants and to prevent the natural invasion of turfs by unwanted plants. This battle must be renewed each year. Knowledge of the habits and weaknesses of weeds enables the lawnkeeper to vanquish these foes in every encounter, usually with little expenditure of effort

Forage Crops in Alaska

The foregoing report was reprinted from Alaska’s Agriculture and Forestry, Alaska Rural Development Council Publication No. 3, and the pagination has been changed. Alaska’s Agriculture and Forestry was published in December 1983 by Cooperative Extension Service, University of Alaska and U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperating, Fairbanks, Alaska. Some of the information in this report represents contributions from research programs of other present and past Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station staff scientists, as indicated by text citations of numbered title s of publications in the reference list above. Foremost among these investigators are R. L. Taylor, W. W. Mitchell, A. L. Brundage, J. D. McKendrick, H. J. Hodgson, and A. C.Wilton.Forage crops can be defined as the aboveground growth (stems, leaves, and sometimes seed heads and immature seeds) of plants that are gathered and fed to herbivorous, domestic animals. Similar plant growth that is grazed directly by livestock in rotational or permanent pastures, but on a less extensive basis than rangelands, is also considered in this discussion. For the most part, forage crops are herbaceous (nonwoody) members of two large plant families—grasses and legumes. The grass family world-wide numbers about 5,000 species, but only about three dozen of these are important as forages. The legume family includes more than 12,000 species world-wide, fewer than 20 of which are considered to be important forage crops

Performance of Indigenous and Introduced Slender Wheatgrass in Alaska, and Presumed Evidence of Ecotypic Evolution

Objectives of this study were to evaluate forage and seed production, winter hardiness, and stand longevity of several collections of native Alaskan slender wheatgrass (Agropyron trachycaulum (Link) Malte), and to compare their performance with introduced cultivars of slender wheatgrass and standard Alaska forage grasses in other species. Eight experiments at the Matanuska Research Farm (61.6° N. Lat.) near Palmer, Alaska demonstrated the superior winter hardiness and forage productivity of indigenous Alaskan slender wheatgrass lines (collected from 62° to 67° N. Lat.) over introduced cultivars ‘Revenue’ (originating at 52° to 53° N) from Saskatchewan and ‘Primar’ (adapted at 46° to 48° N) from the Pacific Northwest

Winterhardiness, Forage Production, and Persistence of Introduced and Native Grasses and Legumes in Southcentral Alaska

This study consisted of four separate field experiments, each of six years duration, conducted at the University of Alaska’s Matanuska Research Farm (61.6oN) near Palmer in southcentral Alaska. Objectives were to compare winterhardiness, forage productivity, and general persistence of introduced grass and legume species, strains, and cultivars from various world sources with Alaska-developed cultivars and native Alaskan species. Twenty-one species of grasses compared (Tables 1 through 4) included eight native to Alaska, four Alaska cultivars, and numerous introduced cultivars and regional strains (one to seven per species) from North America and northern Europe. Legumes included two species of biennial sweetclover and nine species of perennials, six introduced and three native. Each experiment was harvested once near the end of the seeding year and twice annually for five years thereafter

Comparative Winterhardiness of Cultivated and Native Alaskan Grasses, and Forage Yield and Quality as Influenced by Harvest Schedules and Frequencies, and Rates of Applied Nitrogen

Objectives of this investigation were to compare certain traditional forage grasses with several native Alaskan grass species for forage yield, forage quality as measured by percent crude protein and digestibility (in vitro dry-matter disappearance or percent IVDMD), and comparative winterhardiness in three separate experiments. Management variables included different harvest frequencies (2, 3, and 4 times per year), and five different rates of applied nitrogen (N). Experiments were conducted at the University of Alaska’s Matanuska Research Farm (61.6oN) near Palmer in southcentral Alaska. All species were tall-growing, cool-season perennials. Traditional forage grasses included ‘Polar’ hybrid bromegrass (predominantly Bromus inermis x B. pumpellianus), ‘Engmo’ timothy (Phleum pratense), ‘Garrison’ creeping foxtail (Alopecurus arundinaceus), and a non-cultivar, commercial meadow foxtail (A. pratensis). Native Alaskan species were Siberian wildrye (Elymus sibiricus), slender wheatgrass (Agropyron trachycaulum), arctic wheatgrass (A. sericeum), bluejoint (Calamagrostis canadensis), and polargrass (Arctagrostis arundinacea)

Bromegrass in Alaska. II. Autumn Food-Reserve Storage, Freeze Tolerance, and Dry-Matter Concentration in Overwintering Tissues as Related to Winter Survival of Latitudinal Ecotypes

The objective of this study was to acquire improved understanding of factors that influence winter survival of bromegrass (Bromus spp.) at northern latitudes. Four bromegrass strains of diverse latitudinal origins were used: (a) native Alaskan pumpelly bromegrass (B. pumpellianus Scribn.) adapted at 61° to 65°N, (b) the Alaska hybrid cultivar Polar (predominantly B. inermis Leyss. x B. pumpellianus) selected at 61.6°N, and two smooth bromegrass (B. inermis) cultivars, (c) Manchar selected in the U.S. Pacific Northwest (43° to 47°N), and (d) Achenbach originating from Kansas (34° to 42°N)

Extreme Northern Acclimatization in Biennial Yellow Sweetclover (Melilotus officinalis) at the Arctic Circle

Biennial sweetclovers (Melilotus spp.) are among the most winter-hardy of the legumes used as forage crops (Bula and Smith 1954; Gorz and Smith 1973; Hodgson and Bula 1956; Klebesadel 1971b, 1980). Common strains and cultivars of both yellow-flowered (M. officinalis [L.] Lam.) and white-flowered (M. alba Desr.) species are grown extensively in the Middle West and Great Plains areas of the United States (Gorz and Smith 1973), and the prairie provinces of Canada (Greenshields 1957). However, due to inadequate winter hardiness in Alaska of strains currently available (Hodgson and Bula 1956; Irwin 1945; Klebesadel 1971b, 1980), sweetclovers from other areas are not dependable for use as biennials in southcentral Alaska

Winter Survival of Grasses and Legumes in Subarctic Alaska as Related to Latitudinal Adaptation, Pre-Winter Storage of Food Reserves, and Dry-Matter Concentration in Overwintering Tissues

similar experiments, were to (a) compare winter hardiness in subarctic Alaska of numerous plant species and ecotypes from various latitudinal sources within most species, and (b) seek a better understanding of certain aspects of pre-winter physiologic changes in plants that are associated with successful or with unsuccessful winter survival in this northern area. Both experiments were conducted at the University of Alaska’s Matanuska Research Farm (61.6°N) near Palmer in southcentral Alaska

Responses of Biennial Sweetclovers of Diverse Latitudinal Adaptation to Various Management Procedures in Alaska

This report summarizes eight experiments with sweetclover (Melilotus species). Objectives were (a) determine responses of numerous cultivars and strains, representing a wide range of latitudinal adaptation, to various management procedures, (b) identify management options that contribute to improved winter survival, (c) delineate management procedures for maximizing yields, nutritional value, and usefulness of sweetclover for forage production in Alaska, and (d) identify logical avenues for future management research with sweetclover in this north-latitude area. Species of sweetclover included were biennial yellow (M. officinalis), biennial white (M. alba), and annual white (M. alba var. annua). All experiments except one were conducted at the University of Alaska’s Matanuska Research Farm (61.6oN) near Palmer in southcentral Alaska; one experiment was conducted at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm (64.9oN) in central Alaska’s Tanana Valley