Impact of Shade on Nutritive Value and ergot Alkaloid Concentrations in Forage Mixtures for Silvopastures Kelly Mercier, Chris Teutsch, John Fike, and John Munsell
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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
How does shade affect forage nutritive characteristics?
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
30% Shade 50% Shade
70% Shade
Harvest ProceduresCut at 15” to 3-4” residual heights
Collect subsamples for:yield & nutritive valuebotanical composition
ergot alkaloid concentration
Photo courtesy of wintersteiger.com
Total Ergot Alkaloids per Plot
mix x shade interaction
mix x shade interaction
June 2016 Alkaloid Interactions
Total Ergot Alkaloids per % Tall Fescue in Plot
Shade Effects on NDF (2015)
Shade Effects on CP (2015)
Shade Effects on TDN (2015)
Why the difference in
forage quality?
Shade Effects on NDF (2016)
Shade and Mixture Interaction on CP (2016)
Shade Effects on TDN (2016)
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
Thank you!Contact: Kelly Mercier, [email protected]
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