Many acres of old perennial pasture in Alberta’s parkland region contain a high percentage of naturalized Kentucky bluegrass and white clover. They are well adapted to close, frequent grazing in the parkland climate and persist under heavy grazing pressure and low fertility.
“As better pasture management techniques are adopted by grazing managers, it has been observed that these old KBG/WC stands respond well to fertility and improved grazing management,” said Lorne Erickson, forage specialist with Alberta Agriculture.
“In fact, some graziers feel that they became equal to recently established pastures containing improved pasture species like orchard grass and meadow brome.
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“Trials studying extending the grazing season with stockpiled forage, demonstrated that KBG/WC pastures retained quality, yield and palatability very well late into the fall and even until early spring, provided that snow cover was adequate.”
Kentucky bluegrass has two distinctive leaf characteristics that make it easy to identify. The leaf tip is shaped like the bow of a boat and two parallel veins run the length of the leaf.
Because of its aggressive creeping nature, KBG will spread into open areas and even crowd out other plants if they are weak.
White clover is the most widespread legume on earth, growing from the Arctic Circle to the temperate regions. There are three types growing in Alberta. Naturalized white clover is less productive than Ladino and white Dutch types, but it is more winter hardy and tolerant of close grazing. White clover often has a V-shaped white mark on the leaves. Leaves and flowers grow from above-ground stolons, creeping stems that allow it to spread over a large area.
“Both KBG and WC have shallow root systems which limits their productivity in hot, dry conditions,” Erickson said.
“However, when allowed adequate periods of rest between grazings and with proper fertility, the root systems can be developed to improve the drought tolerance of the stand.”
These observations prompted Alberta Agriculture and the Western Forage Beef Group to launch a series of experiments to research the potential of bluegrass cultivars and companion legumes. The first trial is now complete and initial results indicate that bluegrasses can come close to matching the season-long yield and quality of other pasture grasses.
Another experiment looking at more bluegrass cultivars and companion legumes is entering its second year. Some new European bluegrass cultivars look promising, as does Caucasian or kura clover.
