Production Response of Native and Introduced Grasses to Mechanical Brush Manipulation, Seeding, and Fertilization

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Abstract
Effects of 2 mechanical brush manipulation treatments (root-plowing and front-end stacking) with and without grass seeding and with and without N fertilization on herbaceous forage production were investigated in the Rio Grande Plain of Texas [USA]. Total herbaceous production (4-yr average) was 5981 for root-plowing and 4789 kg/ha for front-end stacking as compared with 2178 kg/ha for the undisturbed control. The 4-yr average yield of buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris L. (L.) Link) seeded alone contributed 53% of total herbaceous production on plots with root-plowing, 73% on plots with front-end stacking and 38% on control plots. The combined yield of 3 native species, pink pappusgrass (Pappophorum bicolor Fourn.), 4 flower trichloris (Trichloris pluriflora Fourn.), and Arizona cottontop (Digitaria californica (Benth) Henr.), seeded as a mixture contributed 41% of the total herbaceous production on plots with root-plowing, 28% on plots with front-end stacking and 11% on control plots. The application of 45 kg/ha N significantly increased total herbaceous production the season after application.