Herbage accumulation of three bahiagrass populations during the cool season

Fall and winter are periods of critical forage shortage in subtropical regi ons of the world, including the extreme southeastern USA. Cool-season herba ge accumulation has not been documented for bahiagrass [Paspalum notatum Fl ugge var. saurae Parodi] that has been selected using recurrent restricted phenotypic selection (RRPS) for increased warm-season yield, Regrowth of 'P ensacola', 'Tifton 9', and RRPS Cycle 18 that accumulated for 15 or 30 d wa s harvested from mid-September through mid-April at Tifton, GA and Ona, FL for 2 yr, Herbage accumulation was essentially parallel for the three popul ations; minimums were coincident in midwinter, and maxima generally occurre d at the first autumn harvest or last spring harvest. Fall and spring yield s of Tifton 9 and RRPS Cycle 18 were generally higher than those of Pensaco la and often more than double. This advantage was more pronounced at Ona th an Tifton. Digestibility (600 g kg(-1)) and crude protein (CP) concentratio n (150 g kg(-1)) at Ona remained high throughout the cool season. However, forage quality of bahiagrass at Tifton tended to decrease with increased fr osts, Cool-season growth of three bahiagrass populations was slow, but RRPS selection has led to populations with greater growth potential, except whe n cold temperatures prohibit growth entirely.