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Published in Agron. J. 95:1497-1503 (2003).
© American Society of Agronomy
677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA

FORAGES

Irrigated Tall Fescue–Legume Communities in the Southern Rocky Mountains

Years Five to Eight

Leonard M. Lauriault*,a, Steven J. Guldanb and Charles A. Martinb

a Tucumcari Agric. Sci. Cent., New Mexico State Univ., 6502 Quay Rd. AM.5, Tucumcari, NM 88401
b Alcalde Sustainable Agric. Sci. Cent., New Mexico State Univ., P.O. Box 159, Alcalde, NM 87511

* Corresponding author (lmlaur{at}nmsu.edu).

Received for publication July 15, 2002.

   ABSTRACT
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 
Short-term testing of perennial forages may not determine their long-term persistence and productivity. A study initiated in 1994 at New Mexico State University's Sustainable Agriculture Science Center at Alcalde was continued from 1998 to 2001, comparing irrigated monoculture tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and tall fescue in binary mixtures with each of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.), cicer milkvetch (Astragalus cicer L.), or kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum M.B.) in three randomized complete blocks. Percentage of harvested grass in mixtures declined in midseason, but grass dry matter (DM) yield increased across the season. Grass DM yield averaged 7.78 and 4.79 Mg ha-1 yr-1 for the monoculture and mixtures, respectively. Seasonal distribution of kura clover and combined (kura + fescue) DM yield differed from other treatments causing year x harvest x treatment interactions. Cicer milkvetch–tall fescue performed poorly compared with the other treatments (mean annual yield 5.2 Mg ha-1). Mean annual yield (12.7 Mg ha-1) of the alfalfa–tall fescue mixtures was enough to enhance its usefulness over monoculture grass through reduced fertilizer inputs. The birdsfoot trefoil–tall fescue mixture also provided the benefit of reduced fertilizer requirements, but mean annual yield (8.2 Mg ha-1) equaled fertilized monoculture tall fescue. Kura clover–tall fescue average annual yields (14.1 Mg ha-1) equaled alfalfa–tall fescue. Stand longevity, reduced fertilizer inputs, and high yield and quality enhance the usefulness of kura clover in the southern Rocky Mountains. But, irregular seasonal distribution of kura clover between years may make forage budgeting difficult.

Abbreviations: ALF/TF, alfalfa mixed with tall fescue • BFT/TF, birdsfoot trefoil mixed with tall fescue • CM/TF, cicer milkvetch mixed with tall fescue • DM, dry matter • KC/TF, kura clover mixed with tall fescue • MONO, tall fescue monoculture • PLS, pure live seed


   INTRODUCTION
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 
CHANGES IN FEDERAL land policies on grazing lands have encouraged interest in improving yield and quality of privately owned perennial cool-season grass pastures (Asay et al., 2001; Guldan et al., 2000). Inclusion of legumes is one possible approach for improvement of pasture yield and quality. Alfalfa has been the legume of choice, but there are problems with stand persistence and increased risk and inputs due to bloat (Guldan et al., 2000). Casler (1988) mentioned that another concern when using binary mixtures was difficulty in maintaining desirable levels of each component due to different growth patterns of the components. Performance for 4 yr after seeding of binary mixtures of tall fescue with several perennial cool-season forage legumes in the irrigated steppe of the southern Rocky Mountains of the USA has been reported (Guldan et al., 2000). Results indicated that monoculture tall fescue declined in yield for the first 3 yr after seeding and then increased in the fourth year to equal that of the first year after seeding. Yields of alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, cicer milkvetch, and kura clover in binary mixtures with tall fescue increased for the first 3 yr after seeding. Yield changes in the mixtures were driven by changes in yield of the legume components. Yield of alfalfa–tall fescue declined after the third year in spite of an increase in yield of the grass component. Dry matter yield of the legume component of birdsfoot trefoil–tall fescue remained stable from Year 3 to Year 4, but yield of the mixture increased because of the increase in grass DM yield. Cicer milkvetch–tall fescue had yields similar to monoculture tall fescue in the third and fourth years; although, in the fourth year, DM yield of the legume component of cicer milkvetch declined, and yield of the grass component increased. Yield of kura clover–tall fescue continued to increase in yield through the fourth year at the same rate that it had the previous 3 yr, indicating that it may not have completed its establishment phase in the 4-yr period (Guldan et al., 2000).

Although stand establishment by the birdsfoot trefoil and kura clover was slower than that observed by Sheaffer et al. (1992), who reported 95% ground cover for grazing in the year after seeding, yields of all treatments from the first 3 yr of the Alcalde study (Guldan et al., 2000) are similar to those reported by others (Collins, 1991; Kephart et al., 1990; Seguin et al., 2000; Sleugh et al., 2000; Zemenchik et al., 2001) in studies of up to 4-yr duration. Results of longer-term studies are not as prevalent. In a 6-yr study in Colorado, Townsend et al. (1990) measured DM yields of binary mixtures of cicer milkvetch and seven perennial cool-season grass species that were consistently equal to that of monoculture alfalfa (12 Mg ha-1 yr-1). Tall fescue was not one of those grasses (Townsend et al., 1990), and Townsend (1993) mentioned that cicer milkvetch did not persist in a binary mixture with tall fescue in Georgia. Taylor and Smith (1998) reported that, after 12 yr, kura clover dominated plots that had been fertilized with P at establishment and henceforth unmanaged in the highlands of New Zealand. They also mentioned that more research was needed to determine the adaptation of kura clover in the hot, dry areas of the southwestern USA (Taylor and Smith, 1998). The production potential of kura clover may not have been established by the research conducted by Guldan et al. (2000) because DM yields continued to increase. Producers in the southwestern USA need information about the long-term performance of cool-season forage legumes in binary mixtures.

The objective of this research is to continue comparison of DM yields and changes in stand composition of alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, cicer milkvetch, and kura clover in mixtures with tall fescue under a three-cut management system in the irrigated steppe of the southern Rocky Mountains of the southwestern USA, thereby broadening the database of long-term productivity of these species.


   MATERIALS AND METHODS
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 
This research is a continuation of a clipping study conducted at New Mexico State University's Alcalde Sustainable Agriculture Science Center (36°05'23.8'' N, 106°03'19.4'' W; elev. 1745 m), the first 4 yr of which have been previously described by Guldan et al. (2000).

The field had been conventionally tilled and then prepared for furrow irrigation by forming 0.76-m-wide beds on 0.91-m centers. On 23 Aug. 1993, plots 1.8 by 6.1 m were hand-sown in four rows 15 cm apart on bed tops only. Mixtures were sown with the tall fescue and legume in alternating rows to minimize competition between grass and legume components during the seedling stage (Hoveland and Richardson, 1992; Taylor and Smith, 1998). Treatments consisted of monoculture ‘Alta’ tall fescue (MONO) sown at 96 kg ha-1 pure live seed (PLS) and tall fescue (48 kg ha-1 PLS) in a mixture with each of: ‘Alfagraze’ or ‘Wilson’ alfalfa (33 kg ha-1 PLS) sown in separate plots (ALF/TF), ‘Norcen’ birdsfoot trefoil (25 kg ha-1 PLS) (BFT/TF), ‘Monarch’ cicer milkvetch (36 kg ha-1 PLS) (CM/TF), and ‘NF90’ kura clover (25 kg ha-1 PLS) (KC/TF). The seeding rates for tall fescue, birdsfoot trefoil, and kura clover were higher than those used in other studies (Hoveland and Richardson, 1992; Peterson et al., 1992; Taylor and Smith, 1998) due to the seeding technique used and the desire to establish a stand. It was assumed that seedling mortality resulting from competition, pests, and the harsh environment (Taylor and Smith, 1998) would reduce the plant densities to that typical of areas requiring irrigation (Tesar and Marble, 1988).

Initial soil test results (1993) from the surface 15 cm indicated low levels of NaCHO3–extracted P (28.5 kg ha-1), moderate levels of K (1:5 H2O extract) (63 kg ha-1), and a pH of 7.4. In the spring of each year (1994–2001), the site received 49 kg P ha-1 as granular 0–46–0. Additionally, every year MONO received 134 kg N ha-1 as 46–0–0 dissolved in water and applied in three equal split applications, each {approx}1 mo before an anticipated harvest.

Weather data were collected from a National Weather Service cooperative station located at the Center and within 1 km of the study area. Plots were irrigated during the growing season to supplement precipitation and prevent moisture stress. For all irrigations, water was applied until the presence of moisture was observed at the center of the top of all beds for their full length. A flow meter had been used during the first 4 yr to estimate irrigation amounts as {approx}13 cm per application (Guldan et al., 2000).

The study simulated a graze–hay–graze management system typical of the area, with harvests taken mid-May, mid-July, and mid-September. For each harvest, two 0.836-m2 quadrats were hand-clipped from each plot leaving {approx}5-cm stubble. Placement of the square quadrats was such that a representative cross section of the furrow-bed continuum was obtained in each subsample. The area of the subsample thus included two rows of the legume and two of the tall fescue. The corners of the sampling locations were staked so that samples were always collected from the same locations in the plots for the duration of the study. For mixtures, each entire subsample was separated by species during clipping. Each species was placed in a separate bag and dried for 48 h at 65°C to determine DM yield of each component species within the subsample. Combined DM yield of each subsample was calculated as the sum of the components, and percentage of grass in the sward was calculated by dividing the grass DM yield by the combined DM yield. After each harvest, the entire plot was clipped to {approx}5 cm and the residue removed.

The study was analyzed as a split-split plot where treatment (MONO, ALF/TF, BFT/TF, CM/TF, or KC/TF) was the whole plot, cultivar within species (variety within ALF/TF) was the subplot, and year was the sub-subplot (Snedecor and Cochran, 1980; Sheaffer et al., 1992). Polynomial coefficients of year (linear, quadratic, and cubic) were generated in the data set and used when protected by a significant (P < 0.05) main effect for year or year x treatment. Year and harvest were assumed to be fixed effects of time (SAS Inst., 2000; Snedecor and Cochran, 1980). Data for percentage of grass in the sward, DM yield of component species (grass and legume DM yield), and combined DM yield were subjected to analysis of variance and SAS GLM techniques (SAS Inst., 2000) for repeated measurements (harvest) comparing harvest, year x harvest, harvest x treatment, and year x harvest x treatment. Error terms were rep x treatment, rep x year, rep x treatment x year, and rep x cultivar within treatment for testing treatment, year, year x treatment, and cultivar within treatment effects, respectively. Cultivar within treatment x year was tested using the residual mean square. Protected (P < 0.05) least significant differences were used to determine where differences occurred between treatments within years, harvests, and for the experiment means. Protected (P < 0.05) nonorthogonal contrasts were used in the repeated-measurements statement to determine where differences occurred between treatments in the polynomial components of harvest. Correlation coefficients were also generated among all measured variables for harvest data (SAS Inst., 2000). As in the first 4 yr of the study (Guldan et al., 2000), differences between cultivars within ALF/TF for all measured variables were few and were not deemed meaningful. Therefore, although the term (cultivar within treatment) was included in the model to maintain an analysis similar to that used for the first 4 yr, those differences will not be reported. Unless otherwise specified, differences reported here are significant at the level of P < 0.05.


   RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 
Mean monthly temperatures from 1998 to 2001 continued to be within the range required for the species tested but warmer than the long-term average (Table 1), mainly due to warm winters. The average annual precipitation during the study period was above the long-term average, but there were considerable differences between years in precipitation amount and distribution (Table 1).


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  		Table 1. Monthly mean temperatures and total precipitation for 1998 to 2001 and the long-term averages (1953–2001) at Alcalde, NM.

 
Percentage of Grass in the Sward
The year effect for average annual percentage of grass in the sward had significant linear and cubic trends (59.09, 66.21, 64.04, and 70.52% for 1998–2001, respectively). Differences in percentage of grass in the sward existed between all treatments except CM/TF and MONO (Table 2). The year x treatment interaction was nonsignificant, indicating that after 4 yr (1994–1997, Guldan et al., 2000), mixture composition had stabilized for all legumes. The year x harvest x treatment interaction for percentage of grass in the sward was not significant.


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  		Table 2. Experiment means for percentage of grass in the sward and total dry matter (DM) yield variables of tall fescue as a monoculture and in binary mixtures with selected pasture legumes from 1998 to 2001 at Alcalde, NM.

 
Averaged across years, percentage of grass differed between treatments within each harvest (Fig. 1) . There were no differences between CM/TF and MONO (100% grass) for any harvest date or between CM/TF and BFT/TF in September. No differences existed between BFT/TF and ALF/TF in May and July or between KC/TF and ALF/TF in July or September. There was a significant harvest x treatment interaction for percentage of grass (Fig. 1). The linear trend of ALF/TF was different from that of all other treatments, and similar quadratic trends for MONO, CM/TF, and KC/TF were different from the quadratic trends of ALF/TF and BFT/TF (Fig. 1). This effect occurred because percentage of grass in ALF/TF and BFT/TF was lower in July than in May and September while there was little or no change across the season for MONO, KC/TF, or CM/TF. The lack of change in KC/TF was likely because that treatment was mostly kura clover throughout this phase of the study (5–8 yr after seeding). Conversely, the lack of change in CM/TF was because that treatment was mostly grass by 1997 (Guldan et al., 2000).



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  		Fig. 1. Seasonal variation in percentage of tall fescue in swards of tall fescue as a monoculture and in binary mixtures with selected pasture legumes at Alcalde, NM. Bars indicate the LSD (P < 0.05) for within harvest date comparisons. Absence of an LSD on a date indicates no significant difference among treatments. Data are calculated as harvested grass dry matter (DM)/total (grass + legume) DM, averaged over 4 yr (1998–2001). MONO, ALF/TF, BFT/TF, CM/TF, and KC/TF signify tall fescue monoculture and binary mixtures of tall fescue with alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, cicer milkvetch, and kura clover, respectively.

 
Grass Dry Matter Yield
There was no difference across years for grass DM yield and no year x treatment interaction. Differences between treatments existed for total grass DM yield because MONO yielded more grass DM than any of the mixtures (Table 2). Among mixtures, ALF/TF produced more grass DM than KC/TF. Zemenchik et al. (2001) found that grass DM yield of mixtures was similar to that of unfertilized monocultures. Average annual DM yields of the grass component of the mixtures in this study (4.79 Mg ha-1 yr-1, calculated from Table 2) were higher than those measured for unfertilized tall fescue while MONO yielded similarly to fertilized tall fescue in Kentucky during 3 yr of precipitation deficit (Collins, 1991). But MONO yields were less than measured for fertilized tall fescue by Lauriault et al. (1996), also in Kentucky, in years of adequate precipitation and those measured by Asay et al. (2001) under sprinkler irrigation in Utah. In the present study, even though irrigations were applied to prevent moisture stress, the applied water was apparently not sufficient to achieve levels of productivity equal to those in areas receiving either higher precipitation or in systems using more efficient irrigation techniques (Lauriault et al., 2002).

The harvest x treatment interaction was not significant for grass DM yield. But, there was a general linear increase across harvests in grass DM yield (1.48, 1.78, and 2.17 Mg ha-1 for the mid-May, mid-July, and mid-September harvests, respectively).

Legume Dry Matter Yield
As with percentage grass in the sward, the cubic effect of year was significant for total annual legume DM yield (4.40, 3.83, 4.98, and 3.62 Mg ha-1 for 1998–2001, respectively). The lack of a linear or quadratic effect indicates that yield of the legume component had stabilized and further variation was due to environmental conditions (Table 1). Chevrette et al. (1960) also tested binary mixtures of birdsfoot trefoil with several perennial cool-season grasses, including tall fescue, and measured fluctuations of {approx}2 Mg ha-1 from year to year.

For the 4 yr of the present study, KC/TF had the highest legume DM yield (Table 2), BFT/TF and CM/TF were lower than ALF/TF, and CM/TF was not different from MONO. The response of cicer milkvetch in mixtures was similar to that reported by Townsend (1993), who found that it did not persist in mixtures with tall fescue in Georgia. However, Townsend (1993) also said that if conditions became favorable, stands of cicer milkvetch could recover and become productive again in 1 to 2 yr.

In the previous report (Guldan et al., 2000), legume DM yield of ALF/TF and CM/TF peaked in 1996, but no such peak in yield was established for BFT/TF or KC/TF. It now appears, however, that BFT/TF legume DM yield peaked in 1997 at 6.48 Mg ha-1 (Guldan et al., 2000) and then declined to stabilize at 2.98 Mg ha-1 yr-1 for the next 4 yr (calculated from Table 2). It is still not definite when legume DM yield of KC/TF reached its peak (10.54, 9.66, 12.13, and 8.68 Mg ha-1 for 1998 through 2001, respectively). Studies longer than reported here might be required to determine the long-term productivity of kura clover in the southwestern USA. Seguin et al. (1999) reported that 12- and 15-yr-old stands of kura clover in New Zealand and Minnesota, respectively, had produced similar yields of {approx}11 Mg ha-1.

The linear effect for year x harvest x treatment for legume DM yield was significant (Fig. 2) . This was due to the inconsistency in seasonal distribution of the legume component of KC/TF compared with the other treatments, which were not different from each other. Loeppky et al. (1996) also reported a lack of difference between the seasonal distributions of alfalfa and cicer milkvetch. Variation between years in either temperature or precipitation (Table 1) does not appear to account for the variation in KC/TF. Others have observed the inconsistency of seasonal distribution of kura clover yield (Peterson et al., 1994; Sheaffer et al., 1992). Hoveland and Richardson (1992) found that seasonal changes in legume percentage brought about seasonal changes in forage quality of BFT/TF. Although not tested, quality of KC/TF should remain stable across the season because the grass component did not contribute much proportionately to total DM yield (Fig. 1). Seasonal imbalance in forage productivity can be a major problem in irrigated pasture systems (Cooper, 1973), and the variation in seasonal distribution of kura clover observed from year to year in the present study would make forage budgeting more difficult than for most other legumes.



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  		Fig. 2. Variation between years in seasonal distribution of dry matter (DM) yield of the legume component in swards of tall fescue as a monoculture and in binary mixtures with selected pasture legumes at Alcalde, NM, from 1998 to 2001. Bars indicate the LSD (P < 0.05) for within harvest date comparisons. MONO, ALF/TF, BFT/TF, CM/TF, and KC/TF signify tall fescue monoculture and binary mixtures of tall fescue with alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, cicer milkvetch, and kura clover, respectively.

 
Combined Dry Matter Yield
There was no difference between years and no year x treatment effect for combined DM yield. Experiment total combined DM yields of ALF/TF and KC/TF were not different (Table 2). Yields of BFT/TF and MONO were similar and greater than CM/TF. These findings were similar to those of Hoveland and Richardson (1992), who reported that BFT/TF receiving no supplemental N yielded as much DM as monoculture tall fescue + 112 kg N ha-1 yr-1.

There was a year x harvest x treatment interaction for combined DM yield of which only the linear effect was significant (Fig. 3) . The general linear increase across the season for grass DM yield in all treatments, previously mentioned, had less of an effect on combined DM yield of ALF/TF and KC/TF than on combined yield of BFT/TF and CM/TF (Fig. 3). Increased late-season grass DM yield helped BFT/TF, at least until 2000, and CM/TF, until 1999, to compensate for low legume DM yields late in the season (Fig. 2), which is indicated by the increase in percentage of grass in the sward (Fig. 1) and combined DM yield (Fig. 3) for those treatments in those years.



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  		Fig. 3. Variation in seasonal distribution of combined (grass + legume) dry matter (DM) yield of swards of tall fescue as a monoculture and in mixtures with selected pasture legumes at Alcalde, NM, from 1998 to 2001. Bars indicate the LSD (P < 0.05) for within harvest date comparisons. Absence of an LSD on a date indicates no significant difference among treatments. MONO, ALF/TF, BFT/TF, CM/TF, and KC/TF signify tall fescue monoculture and binary mixtures of tall fescue with alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, cicer milkvetch, and kura clover, respectively.

 
Correlations of harvest data indicate that combined DM yield was much more highly correlated to legume DM yield (r = 0.85, P < 0.0001) than to grass DM yield (r = 0.18, P = 0.0001) while combined DM yield and percentage of grass were negatively correlated (r = -0.61, P < 0.0001). Zemenchik et al. (2001) reported that changes in mixture and component yields coincided with changes in the proportion of the components. Combined yield of the mixture is heavily influenced by the productivity of the legume (Fig. 2 and 3). These findings concur with those of Heichel and Henjum (1991), who tested binary mixtures of reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea) with alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, or red or white clover (Trifolium pratense and T. repens, respectively).

While kura clover is difficult and slow to establish, and does not compete well in the seedling year with weeds, Sheaffer et al. (1992) reported that once established, it becomes an aggressive spreader and outcompeted other species in the mixture within 4 yr after seeding. In 2000, kura clover began encroaching into adjacent plots of all treatments except ALF/TF in the present study. Kura clover was harvested from those plots in 2000 and 2001 as a weed and was not included in combined DM yield. Covariate analysis indicated that this invasion had no effect on other treatments; however, the presence of kura clover was significant enough to be reported. In 2001, kura clover yields of infested adjacent plots averaged 0.9, 2.0, and 2.6 Mg ha-1 for BFT/TF, CM/TF, and MONO, respectively. In the present study, competition might have been reduced by seeding in alternate rows, allowing kura clover seedlings to become established. The only species able to successfully compete was established alfalfa.


   CONCLUSIONS
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES
 
Cicer milkvetch did not perform well in a binary mixture with tall fescue under irrigation. Dry matter yields of established MONO and ALF/TF, BFT/TF, or KC/TF can vary by 2 Mg ha-1 or more from year to year even though there is little difference in stand composition or environmental conditions between years. Binary ALF/TF can maintain yield for long periods, which should make it superior to monoculture grasses because fertilizer inputs will be reduced and less land could be farmed. However, while the stand longevity of alfalfa was not determined in the present study, it is still likely that reseeding will be necessary in the future. The inclusion of birdsfoot trefoil in tall fescue pastures provides the opportunity for legume persistence, reduction of inputs for fertilizer and bloat preventatives, and increased quality of the forage, but yield will not be significantly enhanced. Short-term (2–3 yr) testing of perennial forage crops like kura clover may not be sufficient to determine long-term persistence and productivity in the southwestern USA. However, once established, kura clover provides yield and quality equal to that of alfalfa, with the likelihood of greater persistence, although bloat will remain a concern. One benefit of sowing tall fescue with kura clover lies in deriving economic benefit from the grass while the kura clover becomes established and stabilizes yield. Other forage species (e.g., different grasses and/or legumes) sown with kura clover might give even higher early-year production, eventually yielding the stand to the kura clover. Further testing is needed to determine the feasibility of this hypothesis.


   ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 
We gratefully acknowledge the technical assistance of David J. Archuleta and Val S. Archuleta and office assistance from Phyllis Moya, Dora Valdez, Augusta Archuleta, and Patricia Lopez.


   NOTES
TOP
 NOTES
ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 
A contribution of the New Mexico Agric. Exp. Stn., New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces.


   REFERENCES
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 




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