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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Booneville, Arkansas » Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #214684
Title: Persistence of cool- and warm-season forages in competition with bahiagrass in east Texas.

Author
item Brauer, David

Submitted to: American Forage and Grassland Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/15/2007
Publication Date: 1/28/2008
Citation: Brauer, D.K. 2008. Persistence of cool- and warm-season forages in competition with bahiagrass in east Texas. AFGC CONFERENCE. 2008 . American Forage and Grassland Conference Proceedings.

Interpretive Summary: See Abstract

Technical Abstract: Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) has become a dominant forage species in many pastures and grasslands in America’s Deep South region. Many beef producers are seeking alternative forages that can compete with bahiagrass, because they believe that beef production is not optimum when grazing cattle are grazing bahiagrass. Small plot experiments were conducted at three locations in northeast Texas to determine the persistence of a variety of cool- and warm-season forages when planted into pastures that had a high frequency of bahiagrass prior to planting. Six entries of warm- and 5 entries of cool-season forages were planted in the spring and fall of 2004, respectively. The existing bahiagrass was killed with an application of glycophosate 7 to 14 days prior to preparing a seedbed with a roto-tiller. Seeds were planted the prepared seedbed at rates recommended by Texas A&M University. The presence of the planted species and its frequency in the plot as well as dry matter production was monitored from planting in 2004 through May 2007. Almost all of the cool-season entries planted in the fall of 2004 were no longer present by May 2007 with two exceptions: 1) at one location, about half the stand contained novel-endophyte tall fescue variety that has been commercially available in 2004; 2) at all 3 locations, annual ryegrass was present where it had been planted every fall since 2004. IN all other cases the forage stand was dominated by bahiagrass by May 2007. Only the two native species (switchgrass, variety Alamo and eastern gama grass, variety Pete) among the warm-season entries were still present in May 2007. These two species dominated the forage stand, whereas bahiagrass was the dominate specie where crabgrass, and gaint and common bermudagrass were planted. These results indicate that switchgrass and eastern gama grass have the ability to compete with bahiagrass and persist.