• Excellent drought tolerance
  • High grazing tolerance
  • Stem rust resistant
  • Great forage yield potential
  • Widely adapted

Pawnee orchardgrass is a medium maturing variety developed for drought and grazing tolerance along with increased stem rust resistance and forage yield potential. This variety has a unique background, being selected from plants near Touchet, Washington, that survived five years of continuous grazing by horses, sheep and goats without fertilizer or irrigation. Pawnee is widely adapted, from the semi-arid west and plains to the midwest, northeast and south. In the west, Pawnee is superior to Paiute in forage yield under limited and full irrigation, while similar to Paiute in stand persistence as seen in the tables below. Whether used for grazing or forage, this workhorse variety has the adaptability and proven performance desired by farmers and ranchers.

FFR Western Research Station2005-2007 Test Summary
Variety % Survival Performance Index
Pawnee 69.3 4.23
Paiute 65.7 3.82
Planted 4/29/2005*PI – based on rating scale of 9 = healthy to 1 = dead
Effect of irrigation treatment and pasture grass species/variety on total yield in 2006 & 2007 at the University of California Intermountain Research & Extension Center, Tulelake, CA.
2006 Total Yield T/A
Variety Type June 1st Water Cutoff July 15th Water Cutoff Normal Irrigation
Paiute Orchardgrass 3.99 5.79 6.73
Pawnee Orchardgrass 4.01 5.93 6.93
2007 Total Yield T/A
Paiute Orchardgrass 2.71 3.71 5.60
Pawnee Orchardgrass 2.91 3.93 5.77
Planted Spring 2005