VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Schizachyrium tenerum | Slender Bluestem 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Cattle graze slender bluestem when it is young and tender.  As
seedstalks form, palatability declines rapidly [26].


PALATABILITY : 
Slender bluestem new growth is most palatable to cattle following a
fire, which retards slender bluestem maturity and the development of
wiry unpalatable flower stalks [26].  By June slender bluestem in
central Louisiana is rank and unpalatable on unburned range.  New growth
on range burned in May remains palatable [9].

In south-central Mississippi in early spring cattle readily grazed
slender bluestem, preferring it to little bluestem (Schizachyrium
scoparium) and carpetgrass (Axonopus compressus).  During late summer
and fall grazing of slender bluestem was largely confined to areas where
grass had been kept short and maturity retarded [36].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Slender bluestem was collected in north-central Texas and analyzed.  At
an early growth stage it was fair in protein content and deficient in
both phosphoric acid and lime in comparison with other range grasses of
the area.  At maturity it was deficient in both protein and phosphoric
acid, but had good lime content [11].

Chemical analysis of slender bluestem dry material from burned and
unburned ungrazed plots in central Louisiana showed higher values from
burned than unburned plots for ash, crude protein, crude fat, calcium
oxide, and phosphorus pentoxide.  Values were lower on burned plots for
crude fiber and nitrogen-free extract [36].

Slender bluestem taken on May 1 from unburned plots on the lower Coastal
Plain in south-central Georgia had crude protein content of 3.5 percent;
protein content from burned plots was 8.5 percent.  By full leaf stage
around June 15, samples from both treatments showed 4.5 percent protein
content.  Values dropped concurrently for both treatments through
November.  Phosphorus content was also lower on May 1 for unburned
plots, but by June 15 it was the same for both treatments; both dropped
after August 15.  Calcium content was the same for both treatments
throughout testing.  Cattle made greater weight gain on burned than on
unburned plots [19].

Slender bluestem and pinehill bluestem are inadequate for the nutritional
needs of cattle during the winter [31].


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Close grazing and trampling tend to kill slender bluestem and encourage
the spread of carpetgrass (Axonopus spp.) and weeds.  Slender bluestem
is also susceptible to smothering by litter, and in the absence of fire
decreases more on ungrazed areas than on moderately grazed pastures
[36].

Excessive grazing by cattle in central Louisiana on longleaf
pine/bluestem (principally slender bluestem and pinehill bluestem) range
converted the range under longleaf pine canopy to forbs and to
carpetgrass (Axonopus affinis) on patch cuts [37].

Moderate repeated close grazing can retard slender bluestem maturation,
which prolongs the period of palatability and prevents the formation of
the wiry, persistent flower stalks [7].

Related categories for Species: Schizachyrium tenerum | Slender Bluestem