Cronin, S. W.

Higginbotham, B. J.

English

Texas A&amp;M Repository

    PUBLICATIONS 1990 EVALUATION OF A WARM SEASON SUPPLEMENTAL FORAGE COMBINATIONFOR WHITE-TAILED DEER: IRON AND CLAY COWPEAS AND ALYCECLOVERB. J. Higginbotham and S. W. CroninSUMMARYA demonstration was established on the Cartwright Farm near Groveton,investigating the effects of four seeding rates of iron and clay cowpeas (12.5, 25.0,37.5 and 50.0 lbs/ac) in combination with alyceclover (20 lbslac). Combination plotswere established in a random block. design on a bottomland site to determine: (1)adaptability and yield differences between various seeding rates of cowpeas, (2)acceptance by deer and (3) nutritive quality.Supplemental warm season forage combinations of iron and clay cowpeas andalyceclover provided high quality forage based on crude protein, acid detergent fiberand total digestible nutrient analyses throughout the warm season (June-October).Standing crop estimates for cowpeas established at four seeding rates in combina-tion with alyceclover did not appreciably differ. However, the presence of iron andclay cowpeas in this combination: (1) provided high quality forage through August,(2) provided protection for the alyceclover as it became established and (3) reducedundesirable weed competition by shading.INTRODUCTIONThe establishment of supplemental forages for wildlife historically has beenaccepted as a wildlife management tool. However, maximum benefits can only beobtained if supplemental forages are available during seasons when native forageis lacking or low in nutritional value. In East Texas, these "stress" periodstraditionally occur in late summer and late winter. Warm season forages shouldprovide sufficient quantities of high-quality forage during the August-Septemberstress period. However, unpredictable rainfall patterns and native weed competitioncan negatively impact warm season forage production. The use of two or moreforage varieties in combination can reduce the risk of stand failures and lengthenthe period of forage availability.Furthermore, many well-meaning landowners and hunters waste thousandsof dollars annually because of ill-fated attempts to establish supplemental food plotsfor deer utilizing inappropriate varieties, inadequate sites and/or poor plantingtechniques. In addition, forage enhancement seldom produces maximum benefitsunless accompanied by adequate control of deer populations and management of the203existing deer habitat.Objectives of this study were: (1) Evaluate white-tailed deer acceptance andutilization of iron and clay cowpea-alyceclover forage combinations; (2) Evaluateadaptability and yield potential of iron and clay cowpea-alyceclover combinationsusing four seeding rates (12.5, 25.0, 37.5 and 50.0 lbslac) or iron and clay cowpeasand (3) Evaluate the nutritional value of these combinations for white-tailed deerusing measurements of crude protein, acid detergent fiber and total digestiblenutrients.PROCEDURESA bottomland site was selected on the Cartwright Farm near Groveton toconduct cowpea-alyceclover combination trials. The site was selected on the basisof (1) being representative of the location and (2) possessing the characteristics ofa bottomland site since soil moisture potential is generally greater as compared toupland sites, particularly in the summer months when moisture availability is amajor limiting factor for plant growth.Soil samples were collected in order to determine agricultural limestone andfertilizer requirements. Site preparation was limited to mowing and disking usingstandard tractor implements. Plots were established on May 26 followingprecipitation to insure adequate soil moisture.A random block design was utilized to test the four seeding rates (12.5, 25.0,37.5 and 50.0 lbslac) or iron and clay cowpeas in combination with alycecloverseeded at 20 lbslac. Three replicates of each cowpea seeding rate were establishedin plots measuring 20' x 20'. Each plot was individually flagged and a buffer stripfive feet wide was incorporated between plots and replicates.Cowpeas and alyceclover seeds were inoculated at the time of planting. Allseeds were pre-weighed following germination tests. Cowpea seeds were broadcastover each plot and covered to a depth of 112"-1". Alyceclover seeds were broadcastby hand and lightly covered by raking.A three-foot diameter exclosure was staked on each plot at the time ofseeding to provide a comparison between utilized and unutilized areas. Growth andutilization were measured monthly from June until plant growth ended in October.One forage sample using a two-foot diameter ring was taken randomly from eachplot on a monthly basis from July (60 days) until plant growth ended in October(150 days). This technique measured forage quality at the end of each 3Q-daysample period and was therefore a reflection of forage status following utilization.204As a result, quality measurements obtained were assumed to be conservative innature. At the end of the growing season, plant growth within each exclosure wasalso harvested. This technique provided a gross estimate of variety disappearanceby comparing the stand crop of each plot inside and outside the exclosure. Allforage samples were collected in individually coded paper bags and forwarded to theSoil and Forage Laboratory at Texas A&M University for nutrient content analyses.RESULTSCowpea and alyceclover combinations were planted on May 26, 1989. Soiltests indicated a need for 100 lbslacre of 20-50-70 fertilizer.Fertilizer was applied when germination of peas became evident. To beconsidered as a viable warm season supplemental forage for white-tailed deer, plantcombinations should be judged on four criteria: (1) the combination must produceenough standing crop to justify establishment (in other words, be adapted to thelocation and site), (2) be readily accepted by white-tailed deer, (3) be of valuenutritionally to white-tailed deer as measured by crude pro~in, acid detergent fiberand total digestible nutrients and (4) be present during the major stress period(August-September) to supplement (rather than compete with) native forage. Warmseason forages can be particularly useful to managersllandowners interested inintensive deer management because of the potential increase in forage quantity andquality corresponding with the seasons of lactation by does, fawns growth andantler development by bucks.Adaptability and Yield: Based on standing crop estimates inside plot exclosures,all seeding rates of iron and clay cowpeas in combination with alyceclover producedsuitable quantities of forage on the bottomland site (Table 1). The 12.5 lbslac perseeding rate yielded only 616 poundslac less forage than the 50.0 lbslac per seedingrate. However, the presence of peas did serve as a nurse crop by protectingalyceclover until adequate growth was achieved to withstand browsing and servedto reduce weed competition by providing a canopy over the shade tolerantalyceclover.Fora~ Quality: Forage quality was measured using crude protein, acid detergentfiber and total digestible nutrient content. Forages that maintain crude proteincontent of at least 16 percent, acid detergent fiber below 40 percent and totaldigestible nutrient content of at least 60 percent are considered to be of highquality for white-tailed deer. The alyceclover-cowpea combination met and exceededthese criteria for all treatments (Tables 2-4). Forage quality remained high until205a killing frost occurred on October 19.TABLE 1. STANDING CROP ESTIMATES AND DISAPPEARANCE (lbslac) OFIRON AND CLAY COWPEA-ALYCECLOVER COMBINATIONS ON THECARTWRIGHT FARM, TRINITY COUNTY, TEXASStandin~ CrqpCowpea SeedingRate Obs/ac) In-Ca" Out-Ca~e Disa;gpearance12.5 5810.9 2701.6 3109.325.0 6269.6 2854.4 3415.137.5 6167.6 3058.3 3109.250.0 6626.1 4026.8 2599.2TABLE 2. MEAN CRUDE PROTEIN CONTENT (% DRY WEIGHT) OF IRONAND CLAY COWPEAS-ALYCECLOVER COMBINATIONS ON THE CARTWRIGHTFARM, TRINITY COUNTY, TEXAS206TABLE 3. MEAN ADF CONTENT (%) OF mON AND CLAY COWPEA·ALYCECLOVER COMBINATIONS ON THE CARTWRIGHT FARM, TRINITYCOUNTY, TEXASDays Since PlantingCowpea SeedingRate Obs/ac) -ti.Q.. J!Q... ...l2!L ...lm.12.5 24.6 29.0 28.0 51.925.0 28.2 28.0 ~8.0 50.137.5 29.0 28.4 28.2 49.350.0 27.3 29.8 28.1 45.1TABLE 4. MEAN TDN (%) OF mON AND CLAY COWPEA· ALYCECLOVERCOMBINATIONS ON THE CARTWRIGHT FARM, TRINITY COUNTY, TEXASDays Since PlantingCowpea SeedingRate Obs/ac) -ti.Q.. J!Q... ...l2!L ...lm.12.5 72.4 67.7 68.8 28.625.0 68.6 68.7 68.8 32.437.5 67.7 68.3 68.6 34.850.0 70.3 66.9 68.7 41.7DiS8PJ)earance and Utilization: Disappearance was utilized as a relative index toestimate deer acceptance of the cowpea-alyceclover combinations. Disappearancewas calculated as an estimate of the amount of forage (lbslac) that "disappeared"from the plot as compared to the amount of forage protected from utilization byeach plot exclosure. Table 1 indicates disappearance estimates for the varioustreatments of pea seeding rates. The highest disappearance estimate was for the25.0 lblac seeding rate of cowpeas (3415.2) while the lowest estimate occurred atthe 50.0 lbslac seeding rate (2599.2)Rate of utilization provides a better estimate of acceptance than disappearancealone since utilization observations were recorded over the entire growing season.Utilization of cowpeas increased until 60 days after planting, then declined and207were completely eliminated between 90 and 120 days (August-September) afterplanting (Table 5). This corresponded with below normal rainfall for August andSeptember which could have been partially responsible for utilization resulting inthe elimination of pea stands in all plots. Alyceclover was not readily available forutilization until approximately 60 days after planting. Utilization was moderateat 60 days (July) then declined in August but increased slightly in September. Thedecrease in utilization of alyceclover in August corresponded to the elimination viabrowsing of cowpeas from all plots.Since cowpeas were completely eliminated between 90-120 days (August-September), alyceclover provided the bulk. of the forage available for deer during thelast 60 days of the growing season. As a result, this combination served to provideforage availability soon after planting (cowpeas) to the end of the growing season(alyceclover).TABLE 5. UTILIZATION (%) OF IRON AND CLAY COWPEAS ANDALYCECLOVER PLANTED IN COMBINATION ON THE CARTWRIGHT FARM,TRINITY COUNTY, TEXAS .Days Since Plantine-CowpeaSeedingObs/ac)12.525.037.550.0Variety 3.5.- ...no... ...00...alyceclover 0.0 13.3 5.0cowpea 46.7 71.3 41.7alyceclover 0.0 18.3 6.7cowpea 30.0 85.0 43.3alyceclover 0.0 28.3 6.7cowpea 36.7 85.0 30.0alyceclover 0.0 23.3 5.0cowpea 48.3 83.3 73.3120* 150**10.08.311.711.7* Cowpeas were completely eliminated from all plots by day 120.**Frost on October 19 caused leaf drop of alyceclover preventing utilization ratingon day 150.Warm season supplemental forage can positively impact the nutrition availablefor white-tailed deer from June through October. In general, per acre establishmentcosts vary from $75.00 to $100.00 per acre depending on site preparation and208cowpea seeding rate. By planting one to three percent of the total habitat baseavailable, landowners can provide a high quality supplemental forage to enhancethe nutritional plane available for white-tailed deer during the seasons whenlactation, fawn growth and antler development occur. Based on production achievedin this demonstration, alyceclover-cowpea combinations were produced at costs ofless than $0.02 per pound of dry weight forage.CONCLUSIONSWarm season forage combinations of alyceclover and iron and clay cowpeas canpositively impact the forage quality and quantity available for white-tailed deer.The combination of these forage varieties appears to successfully increase theavailability of high quality forage through the summer stress period (August-September) for white-tailed deer. The combination approach of multi-varietyestablishment vs monocultural plantings also reduces the likelihood of total standfailure due to disease, parasites, climatic conditions, etc.Based on yield, disappearance, utilization and nutritive quality, alyceclover-cowpea combinations were judged to be suitable for white-tailed deer, particularlywhen established on bottomland sites capable of maintaining suitable soil moisture.Although the use of cowpeas in the combination provided forage in June, Julyand August, the seeding rate of peas did not appear to be a limiting factor inoverall productio~. Plots seeded with cowpeas at 12.5 lbslac produced almost asmuch forage as the plots seeded with cowpeas at 50.0 lbs/ac. However, thepresence of cowpeas appeared to decrease weed growth and served as a nurse cropby providing some protection from browsing in the early stages of alycecloverdevelopment. The treatment consisting of a 25 lbslac cowpea seeding rate rankedhighest of all treatments (first in disappearance, second in total production).Recommendations for establishing iron and clay cowpea/alyceclovercombinations include: (1) Select bottomland sites with adequate soil moisture forplanting but avoid areas prone to flooding; (2) Soil test to determine lime andfertilizer requirements. Lime several months in advance of planting if possible; (3)Inoculate cowpea and alyceclover seed at the time of planting; (4) Utilize 20 lbslacof alyceclover and a moderate seeding rate for cowpeas (25.0 lbslac).209ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThanks go to Mr. Terry Cartwright for providing a site and assistancethroughout this demonstration. Thanks also go to Kaufman Seed Company,Ashdown, Arkansas, for providing seed. Lastly, thanks go to James C. Kroll(Stephen F. Austin State University) for providing the demonstration design.210

Evaluation of a Warm Season Supplemental Forage Combination for White-Tailed Deer: Iron and Clay Cowpeas and Alyceclover

https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/1969.1/189982/1/article516.pdf

Evaluation of a Warm Season Supplemental Forage Combination for White-Tailed Deer: Iron and Clay Cowpeas and Alyceclover

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Texas A&M Repository

Evaluation of a Warm Season Supplemental Forage Combination for White-Tailed Deer: Iron and Clay Cowpeas and Alyceclover

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Texas A&amp;M Repository

Texas A&M Repository