What question did this study set out to answer?

Determine differences in animal diet preference, ground cover, forage mass, and forage quality among commercially available novel endophyte-infected tall fescue cultivars compared to toxic and endophyte-free controls.

March 28, 2019Crop Science

Comparison and Diet Preference of Novel Endophyte‐Infected Tall Fescue Cultivars

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Determine differences in animal diet preference, ground cover, forage mass, and forage quality among commercially available novel endophyte-infected tall fescue cultivars compared to toxic and endophyte-free controls.
Conducted a 2-year grazing trial in Linneus, Missouri, with beef cattle (Bos spp.) evaluated across nine grazing events under short-duration grazing (≤24 hours) and a minimum 8-cm stubble height.
Assessed six novel endophyte-infected cultivars alongside common toxic endophyte-infected and endophyte-free controls.
Tracked cattle grazing sequence and frequency using GPS collars and measured forage mass, forage removal, ground cover, crude protein, acid detergent fiber, and neutral detergent fiber.
Beef cattle grazed the soft-leaf cultivar 'BarOptima' first and most frequently, showing that animal preference was driven by leaf texture rather than endophyte infection status.
Forage mass, forage removal, crude protein, acid detergent fiber, and neutral detergent fiber did not differ qualitatively among cultivars.
Ground cover increased each year across all cultivars despite suppressed seed production, whereas susceptibility to rust (Puccinia spp.) varied by cultivar.

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Implication

Grazing trial demonstrates that beef cattle prefer soft-leaf tall fescue regardless of fungal strain, indicating plant physical traits drive grazing choice over endophyte status.

Cite This Study

Kenyon et al. (2019) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a7bfffe01db1a7270ed3dfd https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2018.10.0626

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Implication

Grazing trial demonstrates that beef cattle prefer soft-leaf tall fescue regardless of fungal strain, indicating plant physical traits drive grazing choice over endophyte status.

Comparison and Diet Preference of Novel Endophyte‐Infected Tall Fescue Cultivars

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Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Comparison and Diet Preference of Novel Endophyte‐Infected Tall Fescue Cultivars

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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