1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
4-42B Earth Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton AB
Event details: A graduate exam seminar is a presentation of the student’s final research project for their degree.
This is an ALES PhD Final Exam Seminar by Hayford Gyamfi. This seminar is open to the general public to attend.
Zoom Link: https://ualberta-ca.zoom.us/j/97364451988?pwd=QjAvWUNWVVRwU1VhblIyazZIQVRWQT09
PhD with Dr. Guillermo Hernandez Ramirez.
Thesis Topic: Perennial Forage Mixtures: An Integrated Approach to Investigating their Performance for Northwestern Alberta
Abstract:
Perennial forage mixtures are an important component of the livestock-forage systems in Canada. Across Alberta, questions from beef cattle producers focus on how to improve pasture or hay land productivity using combinations of perennial grass and legume species. To address these concerns, this 3-yr research was conducted in Northwestern Alberta to holistically evaluate the yield, nutritive value, and ecosystem benefits of several perennial forage species grown as monocultures or in mixtures. Our results revealed that grass-legume mixtures had greater dry matter yield, crude protein content, and lower crude fiber content, whereas monoculture grasses had higher digestibility and energy. Overall, grass-legume mixtures also enhanced soil microbial activity, surface infiltration, soil compaction, and biological nitrogen fixation and transfer, whereas monoculture grasses substantially improved soil carbon sequestration. These research findings have provided producers with high-yielding forage species as viable options for establishment, as well as alternatives for improving soil health.
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