Bromegrass in Alaska. VI. Effects of a Broad Array of Harvest Schedules and Frequencies on Forage Yield and Quality and on Subsequent Winter Survival of Cultivars Manchar and Polar

Abstract

Objectives of this study were to compare several schedules and frequencies of forage harvest of smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.): (a) for distribution of forage yields and total productivity in the year of differential harvests, (b) for percent crude protein in herbage in the various cuttings and for yields of crude protein, (c) for determining rates of growth (production of herbage dry matter) during the growing season, and (d) for effects of those different harvest schedules and frequencies on subsequent winter survival and on stand health and vigor the following year as measured by a uniform evaluation harvest in late June or early July. Two bromegrass cultivars, mid–temperate–adapted Manchar and subarctic–adapted Polar, were utilized in four experiments (Manchar in two, Polar in two) conducted at the University of Alaska’s Matanuska Research Farm (61.6°N) near Palmer in the Matanuska Valley in southcentral Alaska.