1. Selecting Grass Varieties Dr. Dan Undersander University of Wisconsin

2. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2009 Selecting a Good Grass Variety Mixed with Alfalfa Less NFC than corn silage or alfalfa In Pastures Greater differences exist among grass varieties than among corn hybrids and soybean varieties

3. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2009 Selecting Grass Varieties Yield range of grass varieties in UW trials

4. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2009 Selecting Grass varieties - Yield difference among varieties

5. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2009 Selecting Grasses Bromegrass not recommended 60 to 70 % of growth first cutting Overwhelms alfalfa 1 st cut – little impact later Timothy not recommended Short stand life, 2 to 4 years Lowest yielding grass

6. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2009 Selecting Grasses Orchardgrass and tall fescue Want winterhardy types

7. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2009 Selecting Grasses Orchardgrass and tall fescue Want winterhardy types Want rust resistant types

8. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2009 Rust in grass trials

9. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2009 Selecting Grasses Orchardgrass and tall fescue Want winterhardy types Want rust resistant types Want late maturing types

10. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2009 Selecting Grasses Orchardgrass and tall fescue Want winterhardy types Want rust resistant types Want late maturing types Want good seasonal distribution of yield

11. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2009 Seasonal variation in Orchardgrass variety yield

12. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2009 Seasonal variation in Tall Fescue variety yield

13. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2009 % season yield in first cut vs β for orchardgrass varieties, UW Arlington

14. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2009 % season yield in first cut vs β for Tall Fescue varieties, UW Arlington

15. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2009 Web Resources UW Extension A1525 Newspapers UW Extension Forage Resources www.uwex.edu/ces/forage