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Arizona
Range Grasses Back to the Table of Contents
Growth habit: Long-lived, moderately coarse perennial
bunchgrass, 2 to 3 feet tall.
Occurrence Primarily in the northern part of the state or at elevations
above 5,000 feet. This grass is not native to Arizona, and generally
occurs where it has been planted. The grass was often seeded after big
Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) control measures. Forage Value Crested wheatgrass produces a large volume of high quality
forage. It begins to grow early in the spring, becomes dry before the
summer rains and resumes growth after the summer rains have begun. The
plants remain partly green through the fall months unless the season
is abnormally dry. When fall rains come early the plants again begin
a regrowth period. Thus, crested wheatgrass furnishes green forage in
early spring and late fall when other range forage is scarce. It is
highly palatable to all classes of livestock and other grazing animals. Because crested wheatgrass is rather coarse, it makes
poor forage when dry. When green and actively growing, on the other
hand, there are few grasses that are more nutritious.
Crested wheatgrass is used more widely for reseeding than
any other grass. It has been used successfully in the sagebrush, shortgrass,
pinyon-juniper, and ponderosa pine vegetation types. Reseeded stands generally become established during the
summer. They should not be grazed during the year of seeding, nor during
spring or summer of the following year. Well-established stands can
be lightly grazed during fall of the second year without harm to the
grasses. Crested wheatgrass withstands heavy grazing better than
most grasses. When closely grazed, however, livestock should be excluded
about every third year from before the time summer growth begins until
the seed crop has matured. Crested wheatgrass can be grazed to best advantage while
green and actively growing. However, if cattle are fed a high-protein
supplement while grazing dry wheatgrass, they will make good use of
the grass.
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Cooperative
Extension,College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, The University of
Arizona