Forage mass and botanical composition of four annual forages grown in a loblolly pine silvopasture in the Mid‐South USA

Annual forages are commonly planted in open pasture in the Mid‐South, but there is little information on the productivity of these forages when incorporated into silvopasture. The objective was to evaluate four annual forages adapted to the Mid‐South, namely, arrowleaf clover ( Trifolium vesiculosum Savi), crimson clover ( Trifolium incarnatum L.), tetraploid annual ryegrass ( Lolium multiflorum L.), and diploid annual ryegrass ( Lolium multiflorum L.), in a loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda L.) silvopasture for seasonal forage mass distribution and annual forage accumulation. The forages were tested in a randomized complete block design with three replicates and three harvests per year: Harvest 1 (H1, April), Harvest 2 (H2, May), and Harvest 3 (H3, July) from 2020 to 2022. Both annual ryegrass types had greater forage mass for H1 and H2, with minimal regrowth after H2 and low forage mass for H3. Both annual ryegrass types outperformed the legumes, which largely failed to establish in this environment, contributing <22% of forage mass across harvests despite adequate soil pH, seed bed preparation, and inoculation. Both annual ryegrass types had greater forage mass in the loblolly silvopasture system for H1 and H2 and are more suitable forages for the system than the legumes tested.