Seed recovery and germination of reseeded species fed to cattle

Cattle have the potential to act as a low cost alternative for seed dissemi nation of valuable native species. Data collected from this trial was used to compare seed recovery, rate of passage and viability following ingestion and excretion of 7 plant species. Woods rose (Rosa woodsii Lindl.), snowbe rry (Symphoricarpos albus L.), purple prairie clover (Petalostemom purpureu m Vent.). birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.), western wheatgrass (Pa scopyrom smithii Rydb A. Love, formerly known as Agropyron smithii Rydb.), green needlegrass (Nassella viridula Trin.), and yellow coneflower (Ratibid a columnifera Nutt.) seed was used in the study. Two steers were fed a seed -free diet consisting of fresh cut vegetative Kentucky bluegrass (Poa prate nsis L.)-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) forage. Following a 13 day adjustment period to the diet, steers were fed a single dose of a known number of see ds, and total feces collection was conducted for 168 hours post dosing. Fec al sub-samples were subjected to a stacked screen washing procedure for see d recovery and analysis. Seeds from both pre- and post-ingestion were teste d for hard seededness, firm ungerminated seed, and germination. Seed recove ry varied between seed types, ranging from 5.9% of total ingested seed for western wheatgrass, to 86.3% for Woods rose. Excretion patterns for ingeste d seed varied between seed types, with 50% of excreted seed being recovered between 30 to 54 hours post-dosing. Seed ingestion and passage through the digestive tract reduced viability. Cattle dissemination of viable seeds (a s a % of ingested) such as Woods rose (77.4) and snowberry (69.3), would be a feasible method of delivering large numbers of viable seeds onto selecte d areas. Dissemination of birdsfoot trefoil (17.5), green needlegrass (11.9 ), and purple prairie clover (7.2), yellow coneflower (3.8), and western wh eatgrass (1.3), using cattle would be less efficient, implementation should be based on seed access and cost.