• IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE
• PALATABILITY
• NUTRITIONAL VALUE
• COVER VALUE
• VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES
• OTHER USES AND VALUES
• MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:

Cattle eat mesa dropseed all year long [32]. Use is heaviest during the summer when the plant is actively growing [16]. Black-tailed jackrabbits [9,44] and pronghorns also consume mesa dropseed [38].

PALATABILITY:

Mesa dropseed becomes unpalatable and low in nutrition at maturity [16,21,35].

NUTRITIONAL VALUE:

Mesa dropseed is lowest in protein during November to April (5%) and averages 7% during May to October. Calcium is highest from March to December (0.25%), with a peak May through August (0.35-0.45%), and lowest in January and February (< 0.2%) [32]. Mesa dropseed does not provide much forage in the early spring, because the first leaves are short and protected by the culms of previous years [15].

The nutritional content (%) of fresh mesa dropseed in mid-bloom is as follows [31]:

Ash	2.20
Crude fiber	13.50
Ether extract	0.60
N-free extract	15.60
Protein	3.10
Calcium	0.12
Phosphorus	0.06
Total Digestible Nutrients
Cattle	22.40
Domestic sheep	22.20

COVER VALUE:

No entry

VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:

Mesa dropseed is important in depleted stands of black grama. It stabilizes the loose, sandy soils giving the slower-growing black grama time to revegetate [30,33,35,46].

OTHER USES AND VALUES:

Native Americans used mesa dropseed seeds as food [27].

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:

The response of mesa dropseed, measured by total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC), to the season of defoliation was studied in southern New Mexico. After 3 years, 65% defoliation decreased TNC levels and crown diameter. Productivity during the following year was reduced when plants were clipped during flowering. Mesa dropseed can withstand heavier defoliation prior to flowering than during the rest of the growing season. If it is being continuously grazed, intensity should be < 65% during the growing season [30]. Holechek and others [22] found that removal of 1/3rd of current year annual growth was practical.

Mesa dropseed usually increases with the control of honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa var. glandulosa) [11,17]. Herbel and Gould [18] found removing at least 40% removal of honey mesquite produced greatest increases in mesa dropseed.

Mesa dropseed survives long droughts with grazing [7] and can reduce grazing stress on black grama during the growing season [2]. Adjusting grazing regimes to the amount and timing of rainfall can prevent overgrazing of mesa dropseed [15].

Related categories for SPECIES: Sporobolus flexuosus | Mesa Dropseed