VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Bouteloua curtipendula | Sideoats Grama 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Sideoats grama is a valuable forage for all classes of livestock and
wildlife.  It is palatable and nutritious throughout most of the year.
When rains occur in the early spring, grama can provide green forage
when other foods are scarce and generally remains green late in the
season [34,37].  In some areas it is an important summer food when
cool-season grasses are dormant [39].  It generally provides highest
quality forage during the month of July [39].  Many species of birds
consume the seeds, and small mammals feed on the seedheads and foliage
[35].


PALATABILITY : 
Sideoats grama is palatable for all classes of livestock and wildlife.
It is highly palatable throughout the summer and fall, and moderately
palatable into the winter [32,37].  Leaves are much more palatable than
stems; mature stems are usually not consumed [34,37].  Sideoats grama is
considered to be more digestible than big bluestem , sand bluestem
(Andropogon gerardii var. paucipilus), or switchgrass (Panicum spp.)
[39].  The palatability and degree of use shown by livestock and
wildlife species for sideoats grama in several western states is as
follows [8]:

                      CO       MT       ND       WY  

Cattle               Good     Good     Good     Good
Sheep                Good     Good     Good     Good
Horses               Good     Good     Good     Good
Pronghorn            ----     ----     Poor     ----    
Mule deer            ----     ----     Poor     ----    
White-tailed deer    ----     ----     Poor     ----    


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Nutritional content of sideoats grama, expressed as percentage of dry
matter, is as follows [23]:

                    Aerial Part  Aerial Part  Aerial Part  Aerial Part
                    Fresh,       Fresh,       Fresh,       Fresh,
                    Immature     Mid-bloom    Full bloom   Mature
Ash %                 12.7         14.6         13.6         13.8
Crude Fiber %         28.4         28.9         30.8         31.4
Ether Extract %        2.0          1.9          1.7          1.7
N-free Extract %      45.3         46.2         46.8         48.4
Protein (Nx6.25)%      11.6          8.4          7.1          4.7
Cattle-Dig.Protein %   7.8          5.0          3.9          1.9
Horses-Dig.Protein %   7.4          4.7          3.6          1.5
Sheep-Dig. Protein %   7.8          4.8          3.6          1.4
Ca %                   0.66         0.70         0.51         0.36
P %                    0.18         0.12         0.10         0.08
K %                    ----         ----         ----         0.35
Mg %                   ----         ----         ----         0.12

______________________________________________________________________________

                    Aerial Part  Aerial Part  Aerial Part  Aerial Part
                    Fresh,       w/o Lower    w/o Lower    w/o Lower
                    Overripe     Stems,Fresh  Stems,Fresh  Stems, Fresh,
                                 Early Leaf   Mid Bloom    Dormant
Ash %                 11.9          11.1         9.6         10.3
Crude Fiber %         34.4          30.3        32.7         32.8
Ether Extract %        1.6           1.8         1.7          1.4
N-free Extract %      49.1          51.0        50.4         51.8
Protein (Nx6.25) %     3.0           5.7         5.6          3.8
Cattle-Dig.Protein %   0.4           2.8         2.7          1.1
Horses-Dig.Protein %   0.1           2.4         2.3          0.7
Sheep-Dig. Protein %  -0.1           2.3         2.2          0.5
Ca %                   0.22          0.38        0.28         0.24
P %                    0.07          0.12        0.12         0.07
K %                    ----          ----        ----         ----
Mg %                   ----          ----        ----         ----


COVER VALUE : 
The degree to which sideoats grama provides environmental protection
during one or more seasons for wildlife species in North Dakota is as
follows [8]:

Pronghorn            Poor
Mule deer            Fair
White-tailed deer    Poor


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Sideoats grama has been successfully seeded in a variety of disturbed
areas.  Qualities such as drought tolerance and relatively high seed
germination make sideoats grama a good choice for seeding on many
light-textured soils and rocky sites [13].  Establishment was difficult
on some Arizona sites, but good results were obtained by drill seeding
following mid-July rains [30].  Recommended seeding dates by region are
as follows [35]:

              Region                       Planting Date
                          
     northern Great Plains               April 1 to May 15
     western Great Plains                April 1 to May 15
     central Great Plains                March 15 to May 15
     southern Great Plains               January to April
     Trans-Pecos and the Southwest        June 15 to July 15

Nine-week old seedlings transplanted onto a Sonoran Desert site averaged
21 percent survival after 32 months [5].  Seedling mortality may have
been related to dry soils in spring [5].

Numerous cultivars have been developed includin 'Pierre,' 'Haskell,'
'Vaughn,' 'Premier,' 'Niner,' 'Butte,' 'Coronado,' 'Trailway,' 'Tucson,'
and 'Uvalde,' [10,13,31,35,39].  'Vaughn' and 'Niner' both originated in
the Southwest and have been used successfully to revegetate many
pinyon-juniper sites [13].  'Niner,' developed in 1983, exhibits good
seedling establishment, and reportedly produces more than 50 percent
more seed than 'Vaughn' [13].  'Coronado' has been used successfully in
parts of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, and 'Trailway' is
recommended for portions of central Nebraska and Kansas [35].  'Tucson'
has been planted in New Mexico and Arizona, 'Uvalde' in south-central
Texas, and 'Butte' in Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and the Dakotas [35].
'Haskell' has been successfully seeded onto lignite overburden in Texas
[31].  However, it failed to establish on adjacent bermudagrass swards.

Sideoats grama helps prevent erosion and is rated as having high to
moderate potential for long-term revegetation projects [8].  It has only
low potential for short-term revegetation [8].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Sideoats grama is used in native-grass lawn mixtures [12].  


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Although a 1st-year forage crop is sometimes produced in very good
years, 2 years are generally required for forage production [35].
Sideoats grama is often used for pasture (less commonly cut for hay) and
has been successfully used for seeding eroded or disturbed range sites
in the Great Plains and Southwest [35].  Research suggests that forage
production of sideoats grama is generally quite stable.  In an eastern
Montana study, production averaged 0.98 t/ha over a 4-year period [39].
Digestibility was found to vary inversely with forage production [39].

Sideoats grama typically increases following tree removal in
pinyon-juniper woodlands of the Southwest [29].  Individual plants tend
to survive longer on ungrazed sites.  Comparative survival rates in a
17-year study were as follows [4]:

                                   % Survival
   Years        1       2       3       4       5       6       7       8
Grazed         34.6    19.2    9.0      0       -       -       -       -
Ungrazed       26.8    10.7    7.1     5.4      -       -      5.3      0

Wasser [35] suggests moderate grazing for sustained production and
deferred rotation on ranges in poor condition.

Related categories for Species: Bouteloua curtipendula | Sideoats Grama