Grass tetany is a complex metabolic disorder that causes substantial
livestock production losses and deaths in temperate regions
of the world. It is caused by low levels of Mg or an imbalance of K,
Ca, and Mg in forage consumed by animals. Development of grasses
with improved mineral balance would be an economical means of
minimizing losses from this malady. This study was conducted to
determine if genetic variability exists among crested wheatgrasses,
Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertner and A. desertorum (Fisher ex
Link) Schultes, for forage Mg, Ca, K, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Na, and P
concentrations. Forage of spaced plants of 10 diverse crested wheatgrass
strains was harvested from replicated plots at Lincoln and
Alliance, NE, which differ markedly in climate, and analyzed for
these minerals. There were genetic differences among strains over
locations for Ca, Mg, and Fe concentration in the forage. There were
differences among strains within locations but not over locations for
K. Strain differences in Zn, Mn, Cu, Na, and P concentrations of
the forage were not significant (P > 0.05) when averaged over locations.
Calcium and Mg were positively correlated (r = 0.40).
These results indicate that it should be possible to breed crested
wheatgrass with increased Mg and Ca concentrations in its forage,
thus reducing grass tetany potential
