HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Burton, G. W. Articles by Lowrey, R. S. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Burton, G. W. Articles by Lowrey, R. S. Agricola Articles by Burton, G. W. Articles by Lowrey, R. S.

Improving Forage Quality in Bermudagrass by Breeding¹

Twenty-three clones of bermudagrass, cut at 2-, 3-, 4-, and 6-week intervals, differed significantly in crude-protein content and nylon bag dry-matter digestibility. These quality measurements decreased as age of forage increased. Genotype x age interactions were not significant. F₁ hybrid ‘Coastal’ x ‘Kenya 56 #14’ (the best-quality hybrid) averaged 12.3% more digestible dry matter than Coastal bermuda over a 4-year period. With the same forage intake, 1,760-kg (800-lb) steers should gain 30% more per day with this hybrid than with Coastal bermudagrass. Fiftyseven F₁ ‘Midland’ x ‘Kenya 61’ hybrids cut at 33 days of age ranged from 45.2 to 59.6% in dry-matter digestibility with a 5% LSD of 2.8%. Midland and Kenya 61 parents included in this test gave dry-matter digestibilities of 49.7 and 60.5%, respectively. Dry-matter digestibility, determined by a special nylon-bag technique (the most precise of eight methods used for estimating forage quality at Tifton, Ga.), appears to be well suited for screening many genotypes in a forage-breeding program directed toward quality improvement.

Key Words: Cynodon • protein content • digestibility of forage

² Principal Geneticist, Crops Research Division, ARS, USDA, and the University of Georgia, College of Agriculture Experiment Stations, Coastal Plain Station, Tifton; Research Agronomist, Crops Research Division, ARS, USDA, Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Maryland; and Assistant Animal Husbandman, University of Georgia, College of Agriculture Experiment Stations, Coastal Plain Station, Tifton, respectively. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Dr. T. Hayden Rogers, Chairman, Agronomy Division, University of Georgia, Athens, and Mr. James Dobson, Agronomist, Mountain Experiment Station, Blairsville, Georgia, in obtaining winter-survival data; the Georgia State Department of Agriculture for the protein and crude-fiber analyses; and the Columbia Nitrogen Company, Augusta, Ga., for financial assistance.

Received for publication January 13, 1967.