VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Bromus japonicus | Japanese Brome 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Livestock use Japanese brome heavily in fall and early spring [61,66].
It is an important and highly palatable fall diet item of white-tailed
deer [77], and bison also graze it heavily in fall.  Plants rapidly
loose palatability as they mature [61].  Like all annuals, Japanese
brome is unpredictable forage:  Yields are high in wet years but low in
dry years [61,66].

Wild turkey eat Japanese brome seeds [46].


PALATABILITY : 
Japanese brome palatablity for livestock and wildlife has been rated as
follows [17]:

                     CO     MT     ND     UT     WY

cattle              good   fair   fair   good   fair
sheep               fair   fair   fair   fair   fair
horses              good   fair   fair   good   fair
pronghorn           ----   ----   poor   fair   ----
elk                 ----   ----   ----   fair   ----
mule deer           ----   ----   poor   ----   ----
white-tailed deer   ----   ----   poor   ----   ----
small mammals       ----   ----   ----   fair   ----
upland game birds   ----   ----   poor   fair   ----
waterfowl           ----   ----   poor   poor   ----    


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Japanese brome rapidly decreases in nutritive content and digestibility
as it matures [61].  Analysis of fresh, immature Japanese brome yielded
the following data [48]:

crude fiber         28.7%
protein (N x 6.25)  16.1% 
digestible protein
   cattle           11.6%
   goats            11.6%
   horses           11.2%
   sheep            12.0%
calcium              0.40%
phosphorus           0.26%


COVER VALUE : 
Japanese brome provides fair cover for small nongame birds and mammals
and poor cover for upland game birds and waterfowl [17].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Japanese brome is not used for reclamation, but its seeds are often
present in salvaged topsoils.  Its presence on reclamation sites can
slow succession toward desirable perennials [4,58].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Japanese brome is usually regarded as a noxious weed on rangelands and
prairies because it competes with native perennials for water and
nutrients [4,29,61,66].  It is reported in general literature as
increasing with moderate to heavy grazing [56,61,66].  It may decrease
under such grazing regimes, however.  Whisenant and Uresk [74] observed
that Japanese brome density in Badlands National Park, South Dakota,
which is only lightly grazed, appeared much greater than in more heavily
utilized adjacent rangeland.  They hypothesized that litter accumulation
with little or no grazing created a favorably mesic environment for
Japanese brome germination and establishment.

Mechanical treatments may increase, sometimes greatly, Japanese brome
populations.  With favorable soil moisture Japanese brome establishes
wherever native vegetation is disturbed and soil nitrogen levels are
temporarily increased [30].  Mowing a Kansas tallgrass prairie in August
resulted in one such Japanese brome population increase [32].

Control:  The best way to prevent or minimize Japanese brome invasion is
to minimize soil disturbance.  Where Japanese brome has already
established, it can be reduced with herbicides.  Atrazine is most
commonly used [13,40].  A list of other pre- and postemergent herbicides
effective against Japanese brome is available [79].

Discing or moldboard plowing followed by a second discing or herbicide
treatment after the germination period reduced Japanese brome on the
Texas Southern Great Plains [14].

Related categories for Species: Bromus japonicus | Japanese Brome