FAS Abstracts 2004 Meeting Page

Agricultural Sciences (AGR): AGR-4

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Bahia grass performance between tree rows of Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L). L.A. WHILBY and O.U. ONOKPISE. Forestry and Natural Resources Conservation, Division of Agricultural Sciences, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307. There is a need for scientific documentation of the interactive effects between trees and grasses for their production under agroforestry systems. Shade tolerant grasses are likely to maintain higher understory productivity levels under increasing levels of canopy closure. Studies comparing the trends of productivity of bahia grass, an important forage species in Florida, when grown in association with established loblolly pines are lacking or generally unknown. This research was done to determine herbage quantity and quality of two varieties of bahia grass, Tifton 9 and Pensacola, when grown between tree rows of thinned loblolly pine. Forage quantity was determined by harvesting regrowth using a quadrant (1 m x 1 m), whenever bahia grass plants attained 2.36 cm of height while forage quality was determined by analyzing for crude protein in the herbage. Preliminary data revealed that Tifton 9 had a much better stand than Pensacola variety during the summer and fall of 2003. Forage mass ranged from 0.86 g/m² to 22.54 g/m² for both varieties. Varietal selection will be needed for producing pastorable pastures in Agroforestry systems.