Forages: Grasses

D. J. Cherney J. H. Cherney
Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., U.S.A.
INTRODUCTION
Grasses, belonging to the botanical family Poaceae (or Gramineae), furnish the bulk of feed used for domestic
animals worldwide. Grasses include sod crops and the cereals. One of the most ubiquitous of flowering plants,
grasses are distributed all over the world. There are about 10,000 species of grasses grouped into 650 to 785
genera.
Grasses, like legumes, are made up of proteins, lipids, sugars, minerals, and structural carbohydrates
(hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin). These structural carbohydrates, which give grasses their rigidity, cannot
be digested by mammalian enzymes. Microflora in the foregut (ruminants) or hindgut (equids) of herbivores
convert hemicellulose and cellulose (b-linked polysaccharides) into products that can be utilized by the
herbivores, thus giving them a particular ecological advantage.
Many factors influence grass feeding value, including species and variety, maturity, fertility, environment, and
postharvest management. Grass serves as the major nutrient source for domestic herbivores, and is
increasingly important to the animal producer for soil erosion control, improvement of soil structure, waste
management, and water protection.
STRUCTURE AND MORPHOLOGY
While grasses vary considerably in their growth habits and habitats and may be perennial or annual, they share
some things in common. Almost all grasses are herbaceous.
The seed contains an embryo with one cotyledon, as opposed to legumes with two monocotyledons. The
cotyledon of all grass seedlings remains below the soil upon emergence.
The basic organs of grasses are leaves, stems, and roots (Fig. 1). Specially modified stems and leaves
constitute the inflorescence and fruits. Leaves are attached to the stem, one at each node, alternately in two
rows on opposite sides of the stem. Leaf blades are typically flat, narrow, and parallel-veined.
Grass stems have two distinctive forms. The terminal meristem in seedlings and vegetative growth tends to be
close to ground and enclosed in a whorl of folded leaf sheaths. This is an adaptive mechanism that makes it
more difficult for the meristem, sitting atop nodes and unelongated internodes, to be grazed or cut. Once
flowering begins, the terminal meristem differentiates into the
inflorescence, and the internodes elongate. It is advantageous to the plant for this process to occur quickly,
resulting in a relatively short harvest window to achieve high-quality forage. Elongated stems of flowering
grass plants are clearly differentiated into nodes (joints) and internodes. Joints are always solid; internodes are
usually hollow, but may be pithy or solid.
Established grasses have a fibrous or adventitious root system, which varies among species in depth and
distribution. Adventitious roots are heavily branched, particularly in the upper soil horizon, making grasses
particularly well-suited for soil conservation purposes and for efficient uptake of surface-applied fertilizer.
The adventitious root system can make grasses more susceptible to drought than legumes. Warm-season
grasses, however, typically have fewer roots, which are larger in diameter and grow to a deeper depth than
those of coolseason grasses, thus increasing their drought tolerance.
PHOTOSYNTHETIC PATHWAYS
There are two main photosynthetic pathways in grasses. In C3 (cool-season) grasses, the first measurable
product of photosynthesis is a 3-carbon compound, 3-phosphoglycerate. In C4 (warm-season) grasses, 4-
carbon intermediaries, such as malate or aspartate, are formed. Associated with C3 photorespiration is a leaf
anatomy that has many more mesophyll cells and less lignified vascular bundles than that associated with C4
photorespiration. Thus, C3 grasses generally have a higher nutritive value than C4 grasses in terms of protein,
sugars, and starches. Most C3 grasses can fix CO 2 at temperatures near freezing, with net photosynthesis
being maximized at 20 to 25°C and decreasing above 30°C. Photosynthesis at full solar radiation is reduced.
This means that C3 grasses are ideally suited for the temperate regions of the world. The C4 grasses have a
higher biomass production per unit of water used than C3 grasses and are often deeper-rooted than C3 grasses.
Because of their anatomy, C4 grasses tend to produce more biomass per unit of fertilizer (nitrogen, N) than C3
grasses, but this results in lower N content for C4 grasses. At full sun, photosynthesis of C4 grasses is nearly
double that of C3 grasses. Photosynthesis of C4 plants is low at temperatures less than 10 °C, increasing to a
maximum between 35 and 40°C, and decreasing above 40°C because of protein destabilization. These factors
make C4 grasses well adapted to hot, dry climates.
GRASS VALUE
Much of the world’s land is poorly suited to growing legumes because of low pH or poorly drained soils,
making the use of grasses under these conditions the most viable economic alternative. Perennial grass also
can remove over twice the nitrogen/acre compared to corn, making perennial grasses attractive choices for
nutrient management, regardless of soil conditions.
From a nutritional standpoint, however, perennial grasses often are less preferred than perennial legumes.
Perennial grasses generally contain more fiber than legumes, resulting in lower dry matter intake and
consequently lower production if used as the major feed source in the diet.
Grass feeding value can be defined as its capacity to promote animal production or performance. Animal
performance is a function of nutrient intake and availability, nutrient concentration, digestibility, and
metabolic efficiency. Intake, digestibility, and efficiency of utilization are characteristics of forages that
determine animal performance, with variation in intake accounting for 60 to 90% of the variation in digestible
energy or dry matter intake.
Understanding biological mechanisms that affect forage digestion in relation to chemical analyses is critical
for accurate prediction of animal response to a diet. Lignin is the chemical constituent most often identified as
limiting fiber digestibility. Lignin is indigestible by ruminants or microbes, and inhibits the digestion of
hemicellulose, probably accounting for its close association with digestibility. Notwithstanding this
association, every species has a different relationship between lignin content of dry matter and dry matter
digestibility.
GRASS MANAGEMENT
Periodic soil testing, followed by liming if pH is too low, and fertilization according to results of the soil test
are the most important practices of grass management. No other management practice has been shown to have
more impact on long-term meat or milk production. Fields used for pasture should be tested every two to three
years, but those fields used for silage or hay production should be tested every year. Liming, the addition of
limestone or other basic amendments to the soil, is necessary in many areas to raise soil pH, depending on the
grass species present. Although there is variation among species, grasses generally grow best when pH levels
are between 6.0 and 7.0, in part because phosphorus (P) and essential micronutrients are most available at
these pHs. The major nutrients required by grasses are nitrogen (N), P, and potassium (K). N, needed by grass
plants to carry on photosynthesis, produces the largest growth response in grass and is needed in relatively
large quantities, because, unlike legumes, grasses cannot fix their own nitrogen. P and N have important roles
in water quality issues, contributing to eutrification (P) of water sources and high nitrate levels in water (N). It
is imperative to manage these nutrients for the optimum benefit of the grass and the environment. Other
nutrients are required in lesser amounts, but these are less likely to limit crop growth. Two primary factors to
consider when selecting perennial forage species and varieties are persistence and heading date (inflorescence
emergence). Grasses vary in their tolerance to soil acidity and moisture extremes, so they must be selected for
the environment in which they will be grown. Maturity is the single most important factor controlling forage
quality in grasses, assuming no antiquality components, because of the strong negative relationship between
maturity and digestibility. Awareness of heading date allows for harvest to occur at optimum maturity.
Because heading dates among grass species and varieties within species can vary greatly, selecting several
varieties and/or species can spread out the spring harvest window.
CONCLUSIONS
Grasses furnish the bulk of the feed used for domestic herbivores worldwide. Much of the world’s land is
poorly suited to growing legumes because of low pH or poorly drained soils, making the use of grasses under
these conditions the most viable economic alternative. From a nutritional standpoint, however, perennial
grasses often are less preferred than perennial legumes. Perennial grasses generally contain more fiber than
legumes, resulting in lower dry matter intake and consequently lower production if used as the major feed
source in the diet. Selecting forages for persistence, managing for timely harvest, and proper preservation
technique can ensure high nutritive value.
Fig. 1
Generalized illustration of the parts of the grass plant.

Forages: Legumes
J. H. Cherney, D. J. Cherney
Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., U.S.A.
INTRODUCTION
Legumes belong to the plant family Fabaceae, the bean family, and characteristically have a legume or pod
fruit. Most legumes are also characterized by their ability to form root nodules that contain symbiotic
nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Legumes are valued for their high forage quality, as well as for their use as green
manure crops, but require more intensive management than grasses. Animal agriculture in the future must
have high-quality forage crops that also maintain or improve environmental quality, and most legumes fit
these criteria. There are about 12,000 species of legumes grouped into more than 500 genera.
The most common genera from a temperate forage standpoint are Medicago (lucerne or alfalfa), Trifolium
(clovers), and Lotus (trefoils). Woody legumes are used as browse by ruminants. Legumes are not only a
source of forage for domesticated animals, but also an excellent source of nutrients for native wildlife.
Legumes such as birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) are used extensively for mined-land reclamation,
revegetation, and other soil stabilizing situations. Their popular use for stabilization and revegetation of
roadsides has been curtailed, however, because the forage attracts wildlife to the roadside. Some annual
legumes, such as cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) (also known as southern pea and blackeye pea), can be
used as a forage crop, but are primarily used as vegetables or grain crops in tropical and subtropical regions of
the world.
STRUCTURE AND MORPHOLOGY
Legumes may be annual, biennial, or perennial. Some typical legumes and their relative attributes are shown
in Table 1. Biennial legumes, such as sweet clover (Melilotus spp.), grow vegetatively during the seeding
year, produce seed the year after seeding, and then die. Some short-lived perennial legumes are referred to as
effective biennials, for example, red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), a perennial that often does not survive for
more than two growing seasons. Legume seed contains an embryo with two seed leaves or cotyledons (dicots)
that may stay below ground or emerge, depending on the legume species. Many perennial legumes undergo
contractile growth six to eight weeks after cotyledon emergence. The first stem node holding the cotyledons is
pulled down below the soil surface, providing increased winter hardiness for the developing crown that
contains axillary buds for regrowth.
Legumes develop multiple stems with a variety of leaf shapes (Fig. 1), and stems may have a terminal or
lateral inflorescence. They produce seed in a pod but are also capable of asexual reproduction by stolons or
rhizomes. Stolons are horizontal stems above the soil surface and rhizomes are horizontal stems below the soil
surface. Both have nodes and buds that are capable of producing a clone of the original plant.
Most common legumes develop a prominent or branched taproot (Fig. 1), which can be relatively shallow or
may penetrate up to several meters deep, in the case of alfalfa or crownvetch (Securigera varia L.). A deep
taproot gives legumes a competitive advantage over grasses when surface soil moisture is limiting. Taproots
are used as a food storage organ for generating regrowth, especially important in the case of alfalfa.
BIOLOGICAL DINITROGEN FIXATION
Symbiotic dinitrogen (N2) fixation is a mutually beneficial relationship that has evolved between many
legumes and rhizobia soil bacteria. Free-living rhizobia bacteria infect the legume roots, which concurrently
are developing structures to house the bacteria. Within these oxygenlimiting structures, or nodules, rhizobia
are capable of fixing atmospheric N2, providing the plant with an adequate supply of reduced nitrogen.
FORAGE MANAGEMENT
Harvest management of legumes is planned to optimize forage quality and to maximize the life of the
perennial stand. Optimum forage quality depends on the class of livestock utilizing the forage. The number of
harvests or grazing cycles per year ranges from 1 in colder climates to as high as 10 in irrigated warmer
climates.
Legume Persistence
A higher level of intensive management is usually necessary to maintain legumes in a stand, compared to the
effort required to maintain grasses. Individual legume plants may be relatively short-lived, but legume species
can persist in stands by vegetative reproduction, using rhizomes or stolons, or by natural reseeding.[4] All
legumes are C3 plants, so named because the first product of photosynthesis is a 3-carbon compound. This
means that legumes can compete with C3 grasses in temperate zones but do not compete well with C4 grasses
in tropical and subtropical regions. Because legumes are relatively short-lived, it is important to match legume
species to the appropriate soil conditions to maximize stand life. Most forage legumes are grown in mixtures
with grasses to improve the nutritive value of the animal’s diet, particularly in regions that can support only
lowquality tropical grasses.
FORAGE QUALITY
Legumes often have higher crude protein content than grasses because of their symbiotic relationship with
nitrogen-fixing rhizobia, which reduces the legumes’ dependence on fertilizer nitrogen. Lignin content, which
reduces the extent of digestion in ruminants, is comparatively higher in legumes than in grass. A high rate of
fiber digestion, coupled with lower overall fiber, results in high passage rates and increased animal
productivity for legumes, compared to most grasses. While legumes are generally considered high-quality
forage, there are serious antiquality factors associated with some legumes (Table 2), in addition to the
potential for inducing bloat, summarized in Table 1. These factors are not always detrimental, and in some
cases can be beneficial. For example, at moderate concentrations, tannins slow the breakdown of proteins in
the rumen and improve protein utilization.

CONCLUSIONS
Legumes are highly nutritious forage plants that are capable of fixing their own supply of nitrogen, with the
assistance of rhizobia bacteria. Most legumes support higher animal productivity than grasses, but there are
antiquality factors in some legume species that can be fatal to livestock. Legumes are a major contributor to
livestock production in temperate regions, but less important in warmer climates because they are not as well
suited to such climates as are C4 grasses. Persistence of perennial legumes requires intensive management and
varies with each legume species.