The green, green grass of Highway 16

Tag : alfalfa grass


Provincial forage variety evaulation trials complete. Province-wideforage trials benefit livestock producers by identifying improvedcrops

The BC Forage Council recently completed forage variety evaluationtrials at various locations in the province, running from 2003 -2007. Several forage varieties of grass, alfalfa, cereal silage andcereal grain were evaluated in the Lower Mainland, Creston, andHighway 16 regions.

In Creston, alfalfa varieties were evaluated for the traits ofincreased yield or improved survivability from 2003 - 2006. All 13varieties tested had a higher yield than the check variety. Dr.Surya Acharya of the AAFC Lethbridge Research Centre conducted theCreston trials.

In the lower mainland, 38 grass varieties were evaluated forimproved yield or survivability of forage for silage for the dairyand livestock industries. In 2003, 11 cultivars of tall fescue, 17cultivars of orchardgrass and 10 cultivars of perennial ryegrasswere seeded at sites in Agassiz, Chilliwack and Abbotsford. Theplots were harvested for three years, 2004 - 2006. Dry matter yielddata for all varieties can be found at www.farmwest.com

Along the Highway 16 corridor, testing sites were established atMapes, Fort Fraser, Francois Lake and Smithers. There were 24varieties of grass, 24 varieties of alfalfa and 20 varieties ofoats or barley that were harvested for cereal silage or grainproduction. The Highway 16 plots were extended to 2007 to collect additionaldata at some sites.