FALL HARVEST MANAGEMENT ON GRASSLANDS MATUA PRAIRIE GRASS QUALITY

Forage production of 'Grasslands Matua' prairie grass [Bromus catharti cus M. Vahl; syn. B. unioloides Kunth, B. willdenowii Kunth] (Matua, f or short) during the fall months is excellent, but highly management d ependent. Unfortunately, fall harvest management effects on the qualit y of this grass are relatively unknown. Our objectives were to determi ne the effects of fall harvest management on forage quality of Matua p rairie grass during the fall and following spring. Two field experimen ts were conducted on Hagerstown silt loam soil (fine, mixed, mesic Typ ic Hapludalfs). Experiment 1 addressed date of fall harvest and residu al stubble height; Experiment 2 addressed frequency of fall harvest an d residual stubble height effects on forage quality in the fall and sp ring. Delaying fall harvest of Matua prairie grass caused forage crude protein (CP) content to decline by about 30%; however, delaying fall harvest had no or little effect on acid-detergent fiber (ADF), neutral -detergent fiber (NDF), or in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD). Grasslands Matua quality in the spring was unaffected or inconsistentl y affected by fall harvest management. Delaying harvest of Matua prair ie grass in the spring reduced forage quality but not to the extent re ported for other cool-season forage grasses. Our findings indicate tha t Matua offers considerable latitude in fall and spring harvest manage ment with regards to obtaining quality forage; however, these finding should be considered along with previous findings that fall han est ma nagement has a large effect on winter survival of Matua.