70
Plant Ecology, Biodiversity, and Other Environmental Effects
234. Achievements in management and utilization of
southern grasslands.
Hoveland, C. S.
Journal of Range Management 53(1): 17-22. (2000)
NAL Call #: 60.18 J82; ISSN: 0022-409X
http://jrm.library.arizona.edu/data/2000/531/17-
22_hoveland.pdf
Descriptors: humid zones/ Festuca/ Festuca arundinacea/
Neotyphodium coenophialum/ agricultural research/
Paspalum notatum/ grazing/ plant breeding/ gypsum/
transgenic plants/ beef cattle/ Southeastern United States
Abstract: Grasslands in the humid southern USA are
utilized primarily for grazing on improved pastures, most of
which were developed since the 1930s and 1940s. Virtually
all of these grasslands were developed from species
introduced from other areas of the world. Major
achievements in successful developing these grasslands,
often on eroded cropland, were: (a) introduction of
Kentucky 31 tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.); (b)
introduction of Pensacola bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum
Flugge); (c) breeding of Coastal bermudagrass [Cynodon
dactylon (L.) Pers.]; (d) fertilizer and lime use along with
availability of low-cost N; (e) no-till planting of winter annual
grasses; (f) pasture renovation with legumes; (g) herbicides
for weed control; (h) recycling of agricultural wastes in
forage production; (i) development of round hay baler; (j)
controlled grazing; (k) discovery of the tall fescue fungal
endophyte and its effect on livestock and the grass plant;
(1) development of grazing-tolerant alfalfa; (m) improved
cool season annual grasses and legumes for winter
grazing; and (n) near infrared reflectance spectroscopy for
rapid and low-cost forage analysis. Future areas of
emphasis in improvement of these grasslands may include:
(a) greater use of grazing-tolerant grasses and legumes; (b)
stress-tolerant tall fescue with "friendly" non-toxic
endophytes; (c) feed antidotes to the toxins of endophyte-
infected tall fescue; (d) use of herbicide-and pest-resistan