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Impact of Shade on Nutritive Value and ergot Alkaloid Concentrations in Forage
Mixtures for Silvopastures
Kelly Mercier, Chris Teutsch, John Fike, and John Munsell
Tall Fescue
– Endophytic mutualism benefits plant but hurts livestock
–U.S. cattle industry loses >$1 billion annually (Lacefield, 2016)
Do shaded conditions affect alkaloid concentration?
Objectives
To evaluate the impact of shade on: – nutritive value– ergot alkaloid concentration– yield– botanical composition– soil temperature & moisture– ground cover
of cool-season forage mixtures for silvopastures
Randomized Complete Block with2 Factor Factorial (4 reps)
α = 0.053 Forage Mixtures 4 Shade Levels
Simple Intermediate Complex Full Sun (control)
Tall Fescue Tall Fescue Tall Fescue F. arundinacea 30% shade
White Clover White Clover White Clover T. repens 50% shade
Red Clover Red Clover T. Pratense 70% shade
Orchardgrass Orchardgrass D. Glomerata
Kentucky Bluegrass
P. pratensis
Alfalfa M. sativa
Birdsfoot Trefoil
L. corniculatus
Harvest ProceduresCut at 15” to 3-4” residual heights
Collect subsamples for:yield & nutritive valuebotanical composition
ergot alkaloid concentration
Photo courtesy of wintersteiger.com
Summary
• Mixture affects alkaloid concentration
– Botanical diversity is important
• Nutritive value varied throughout the year
– Full sun better in spring
– Shaded better in summer
• Microclimate moderation may improve forage quality during summer
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