Snowstorm" Forage Kochia A New Rangeland Rehabilitation Species
By: Charlie D. Clements and Dan N. Harmon
Forage kochia, (Bassia prostrata) formerly (Kochia prostrata), native to the semiarid regions of Eurasia has been referred to as “Russian alfalfa” as well as “alfalfa of the desert”. Forage kochia was first introduced to the United States in 1966 by researchers looking for plant materials that could biologically suppress the exotic and noxious weed, Halogeton (Halogeton glomeratus). Crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) was widely planted on big sagebrush sites throughout the Great Basin and successfully suppressed Halogeton, but crested wheatgrass was not successful on droughty saline soils, therefore scientists proposed forage kochia as a candidate species on these soils. Forage kochia belongs to the Chenopod family, which contains other valuable arid rangeland species like winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata) and fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens). Forage kochia is a perennial semi-shrub that has the inherent potential to germinate and establish on a variety of soils including, clay, sandy and loamy as well as in climates that range from 5-27” of annual precipitation. Forage kochia sustains heavy grazing, as it evolved in heavily grazed arid environments, and also has the ability to resprout following wildfires. For centuries, forage kochia has been an important fall and winter forage for cattle, sheep, horses, camels and wildlife in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the surrounding region. Early on researchers recognized the nutritional quality of forage kochia, 8-14% crude protein, therefore suggesting this species be used to improve winter forage for wildlife, especially mule deer. In 1984, the cultivar ‘Immigrant’ forage kochia (Bassia prostrata ssp. virescens) was released to aide in rangeland rehabilitation efforts. ‘Immigrant’ forage kochia averages 1-3’ in stature, competes with the exotic and invasive annual grass cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), stays green throughout the fire season and provides a nutritional forage on arid rangelands (Figure 1). Following its’ release, ‘Immigrant’ forage kochia was used for livestock and wildlife forage, soil stabilization, rangeland rehabilitation/reclamation and suppression of wildfires. ‘Immigrant’ forage kochia has been reported to increase rangeland forage production by up to six-fold and cattle grazing on ‘Immigrant’ during the fall and winter months maintained or improved their body condition without any additional protein or nutrient supplementation.
Figure 1. ‘Immigrant’ forage kochia has excellent nutritional qualities, but due to its’ short stature can be inaccessible during winter months.
Although ‘Immigrant’ forage kochia can be successfully established on harsh, arid and severely degraded habitats, its’ short stature often makes forage unavailable during winter snow depths. The development of ‘Snowstorm’ forage kochia (Bassia prostrata ssp. grisea) was initiated to breed a productive, protein-rich forage kochia cultivar with a large stature that would enhance forage kochia as a winter forage in the temperate deserts of the western United States (Figure 2). Dr. Blair Waldron, Research Geneticist, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Forage and Range Research Unit visited Uzbekistan in 2002 where he obtained 22 collections of forage kochia seed and brought those collections back to his research facility where he initiated a germplasm exchange in which ‘Snowstorm’ forage kochia is derived from. Following nearly 10 years of testing, ‘Snowstorm’ forage kochia was released in 2012 by USDA-Agricultural Research Service and the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station as a rehabilitation species to improve forage production for livestock and wildlife in semiarid environments. ‘Snowstorm’ forage kochia is similar to ‘Immigrant’ in establishment and adaptation in semiarid environments of the Great Basin, but ‘Snowstorm’ is more pubescent than ‘Immigrant’ and is grayish in color, whereas ‘Immigrant’ is green and turns reddish during seed maturity. ‘Snowstorm’ is more than 60% taller in stature as well as providing nearly 70% more forage than ‘Immigrant’. ‘Snowstorm’ also is reported to have 22% higher crude protein, 10-18%, and 4% higher digestibility. ‘Snowstorm’ seed is about 40% larger than ‘Immigrant’ seed, even though it is reported to not result in higher seedling establishment and vigor. 30 JANUARY 2019
Figure 2. ‘Snowstorm’ forage kochia is 60% taller and provides nearly 70% more forage than ‘Immigrant’ forage kochia, which improves nutritional quality and availability year-round.
The Progressive Rancher
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