Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station scientists initiated performance trials of tall fescue and the wheatgrasses in 1992 and 1997. The trials were harvested three times per year. Nitrogen was applied in the early spring and after each harvest at a rate of 50 pounds per acre. Severe winter injury in 1995 reduced forage yields significantly at Rosemount. The wheatgrasses did yield less forage than the tall fescue varieties.
Wheatgrasses have better relative yields in drier climates.
If a yield difference between two varieties within a single column exceeds the LSD value at the bottom, you can assume that the higher yielding variety was truly better yielding. A 5 percent level of significance is used in the table. This means that yield differences exceeding the stated LSD value are real 95 percent of the time. If the difference is less than the LSD, greater attention should be given to other traits which are also important in making your variety choices. 0.6 0.7 NS 1 Endophytes are fungi that invade plant tissues, which reduces forage palatability and animal performance.