Samuel Dixson

Abstract:

Frost damaged forages (grasses/hays) can be harmful to livestock. For example, when forages freeze they can have higher sugar that can cause colic or founder in horses. (Minnesota, 2020) Sorghum can be highly toxic after a frost because it releases cyanide. (UNL Beef, 2015) Some forages that don’t have harmful effects from freezing should be harvested as soon as possible after a freeze. Freezing changes the plant’s metabolism, breaks the cell membranes and it can stop growing, wilt and die. Farmers can’t always tell the extent of frost damage. This can be a problem because a farmer cannot tell if they should harvest the crop or let it grow. This could cost the farmer thousands of dollars. Ideally farmers would be able to test their hay to see if they should bale (harvest) or bail and wait for more growth. My hypothesis was that if forages are frozen for a longer time then they will have lower absorbance spectra from frost damage compared to control plants. I grew Sorghum Sedan, Alfalfa, Timothy, and Tall Fescue for 2 weeks. I placed containers of each type of forage in 25-27 for 0 min (control), 15, 30, 60, 120 and 180 min. Then I ground the forage in ethanol. I tested each forage with a PASCO colorimeter and spectrometer 4 hours post freeze. After freezing samples of each hay type for 15, 30, 60, 120 and 180 min my data suggests that the absorbance spectra decreases in the plants, especially those that experienced freeze damage.

Awards Won: 3rd Place Overall in Junior Division