Rangelands 7(4), August 1985
163
'Ephraim' Crested Wheatgrass—a Rhizomatous
Grass for Western Ranges and Disturbed Sites
Richard Stevens and Stephen B. Monsen
For more than 50years, crested wheatgrasshas beensuccessfully seeded and has dramatically changed the forage
characteristics on western ranges. However, the crested
wheatgrassvarieties presently usedtodayare bunchgrasses.
There is a need fora rhizomatous grass that has many ofthe
desirable characteristics of crested wheatgrass.A rhizomatous variety of fairway wheatgrass Agropyroncristatum,
named Ephraim' afterthe community in which it was developed, was released in 1982 by the Utah Division of Wildlife
Resources; Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment
Station, Forest Service, and the Soil Conservation Service,
USDA; and the Agricultural Experiment Stations of Arizona,
Idaho, and Utah. Because it is rhizomatous, 'Ephraim' is
especially well suited for stabiliza on of disturbed sites, on
lands that have potentiallyhigh erosion characteristics, on
areasofhighimpactor use, and on areasthat are repeatedly
burned.
Ephraim' was collected off a dry, gravelly, clay soil in
Ankara, Turkey, and introduced intothe UnitedStates as P.1.
109012. The first planting in Utah was made in 1946 at
Major's Flat near Ephraim. From Major's Flat, A. Perry
Plummer collected seed and planted them on the John K.
Olson farm, also at Ephraim. Continued testing was conducted on the GilbertJorgensen farmnortheast of Ephraim.
Plummer made selections (clonal material) from the Jorgensen planting which has been used in all subsequent
plantings. Evaluation plantings have beenmade in northern
Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Montana by various State and
Federal agencies. Individual plants are fairly uniform in
vegetativetraits and areasof adaptation.
'Ephraim' was selected for its abIlity to produce rhizomes
as opposed to 'Fairway' Agropyroncristatum or 'Standard'
crestedwheatgrassAgropyrondesertorum, which are bunchgrasses.Under irrigation, 'Ephraim' will developrhizomes in
1 year. On most pinyon-juniper and sagebrush-grasssites,
rhizomes will develop bythethird year and insome casesthe
second. Rhizome development is dependent on site conditions—the harsher the site, the slower rhizomes develop.
Although Ephraim' has been established in areas that
receiveas little as 8 inches annual precipitation, it does best
between10 and 14 inches. Thehigherthe precipitation, the
sooner the rhizomatous characteristics develop. For best
A. Stevens is project leader and wildlife biologist for the Utah Divisionof
WHdlifeResources, GreatBasinExperimentalArea,Ephraim,Utah84627. S.B.
Monsenisa botanist, USDAForest Service, lntermountainForest and Range
ExperimentStation, Shrub SciencesLaboratory, Provo,Utah84601.
Theauthors thank A.P. Plummer, Kent R.Jorgensen,CharlesHoward,and
GeorgeJamesfromthereleasingagenciesforassistanceinvariousphasesof
work, leadingto release. Moniesfromthe PittmanRobertsonW-82-Rproject
for restoration
of wildlife habitat facilitated this research.Someof the work
was performed atthe Snow Field Station, which is cooperativelymaintained
by the IntermountainStation,the Utah Division ofWildlife Resources,Snow
College,and UtahState University.
Two-year-oldseeding 'Ephraim'crested wheatgrass. Rhizomatous
characteristics beginning to appear.Pinyon-juniper site—12inches
annualprecipitation.
production, winterandearlyspring moisture is needed. It is
adaptedtosalt-desertshrub,sagebrush-grass,pinyon-juniper,
aspen openings, and mountain brush communities. It does
well in a wide range of soils including disturbed areas and
mine spoils. Saltand alkalitolerance is moderately high.
Rhizomatousroot system of 'Ephraim'crested wheatgrass.
'Ephraim' has done well when seededwith otherspecies.
Like othercrested wheatgrasses,'Ephraim' in pure stands is
susceptible to the black grass bug.
164
Rangelands 7(4), August 1985
Leaf height and forage production are comparable to
'Fairway' crested wheatgrass. CuIm length is, however, a
little shorter. Spring and fall green-up, palatability, and maturing dates are also similar to 'Fairway'. Robust, unused,
non-palatable plants have not developed in stands of Ephraim' such as occur in stands of 'Standard' crested wheatgrass. Full, vigorous stands have been maintained by seed
and the strongrhizomatous characteristicsforover 15years.
Seedsof'Ephraim' (approximately 200,000perpound) are
larger than seeds of 'Fairway' crested wheatgrass (300,000
per pound). Seedling vigorof 'Ephraim'appearsto be similar
tothe vigorof'Fairway' seedlings.Seed germination of Eph-
raim' has averagedbetterthan 90%. Under irrigation and with
good management,a yield of approximately 400 pounds of
seed per acre may be expected. Seed production on arid
rangelands has been as highas 250 pounds per acre. 'Ephraim' crested wheatgrassis a tetraploid (2n = 28).
Breeder and foundation seed are maintained by the Soil
Conservation Service Plant Materials Center at Aberdeen,
Idaho. Foundation seed is available through Soil Conservation Districts, University Agricultural Experiment Stations,
and Crop ImprovementAssociations. Commercial certified
seed of 'Ephraim' has been available since the fall of 1984.
Fourwing Saithush: an Emerging Hero for West
Texas
Ted M. White
For 40years ranchers of WestTexas havetriedto kill brush researchtests taken at the Texas A&M University Research
becauseit competes with native grassesand becausemany Center at San Angelo, fourwing saltbush had a maximum
species of brush are not desirable forage for livestock pro- crude protein level of approximately 21 percent ascompared
duction. One exception, however, is fourwing saltbush. This tosideoats grama (oneofthemajor native grassesofTexas)
brush is one anyrancher wouldlove to have if only he knew of only 9 percent. The lowest protein level fourwing saltbush
more about it.
reachedwasaround 15 percent while sideoatsgrama fell toa
Fourwing saltbush or Atriplexcanesconsisa woody shrub low of 4 percent. Fourwing saltbush may become invaluable
which is on the average3-6 feet in height. It is native to the as a source of feed for livestock in the winter when native
western half of Texas, from Mexico northward to Canada, grassesare dormant. Most livestock and wildlifespecieswill
and westward to California. Itwaslikelya very common sight be searching for green material to consume to meet their
around the 1900's, but continuous yearlong grazing has nutritional requirements, and fourwingsaltbush has a high
reduced the plant to small areaswhere grazing is at a min- phosphorus level which usually meets or exceedsthe level
imum. It isaplantwhichhasaverydeep tap rootthat allows it neededfor livestock maintenance.
to reach deep sources ofwater. This tap root also allows the
Fourwing saltbush has provento have avery high livestock
plant to survive in areas which have very little rainfall. The carryingcapacity underproper managementpractices. In a
fibrous root system allows it to utilize the light showers test conducted by Dr. Darrell N. Ueckert, a researcher in
which frequent WestTexasand provideshallow soil moisture. rangewith theTexasAgricultural ExperimentStation,twentyFourwing saltbush has many attributes which make it a five head of goats were placed on a one acre paddock of
very valuable commodity for the rangeland of West Texas. fourwing saltbush for a periodofthirty days. Afterthe given
One of these attributes is its adaptability to a wide range of period, the goats had utilized 98to 99 percentofthe available
areas.Itcan growin many typesofsoils, including saline and forage. Over this period, the goats averaged a gain of 1.5
alkaline soils. It is also extremely adaptableto cold and hot pounds per head, even though no supplemental feed was
temperatures. The shrub can therefore, survive in places provided otherthan salt. Afterthe grazing trial,the plotwas
where theweather is as cold as in Canada,or as hot and dry restedduringthespring. Thebush showed a quick recovery
as in northern Mexico.
over the rest period through the stimulation of new growth.
A second attributewhich adds to its value is that it is an Thisbushcannot surviveunder a continuous, yearlong grazevergreen plant and is a palatable forage for usewith nearly ingsystem becauseit needsrest periodsto ensureregrowth.
all its leavesthroughout the wintermakes it a source of feed The suggested managementgrazing system for saltbush is
when the native warm season is over and perennial grasses to grazeit inthe winterand fora short period attheend ofthe
have lost most of their nutritional value due to maturity and summer.Therest of theyear, theshrubshould beallowed to
recover in absenceofgrazing. Although a great dealof manweathering.
saltbush
has
a
nutritional
value.
In
Fourwing
very high
agement is required for fourwing saltbush, established
stands have a longevity of many years.
Note: This paper by Ted White receivedSecond place in the 1985
Fourwing saltbush can be used to reclaim disturbed or
High School Youth Forum paper competition heldat Salt Lake City,
abused sites of rangeland such as oil well pads, slush pits,
Utah.