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Title: No-till drill planting of Texas bluegrass on the Southern Plains

Author
item Goldman, Jason

Submitted to: Native Plants Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/2/2011
Publication Date: 4/3/2012
Citation: Goldman, J.J. 2012. No-till drill planting of Texas bluegrass on the Southern Plains. Native Plant Journal. 13(1):51-55.

Interpretive Summary: Texas bluegrass is one of a few native, cool-season perennial grasses that have withstood for centuries the region’s heat, droughts, grazing, and produces nutritious and palatable forage during the late fall, winter, and early spring when most warm-season rangeland forages are least preferred by livestock and low in nutrients. The extremely cottony seed head of Texas bluegrass has severely limited its use due to difficulties in harvesting and cleaning the seed to the extent it will flow through a drill. Combining the use of a flail-vac harvester, a hammer mill, and the WW2000 cleaner, Texas bluegrass seed was harvested, cleaned, and planted with a no-till drill at Woodward OK, USDA-ARS. Stands were established when seeds were drilled on March 22, 2007 and September 15, 2008, when soil moisture was available on the drilling date and for 6-8 weeks after planting. The cleaning and planting method presented here should enable more wide spread use of Texas bluegrass for pasture establishment, inclusion in native mixed seed lots for rangeland restoration, or inclusion in warm-season native pastures lacking a cool-season component.

Technical Abstract: Combining the use of a flail-vac harvester, a hammer mill, and the WW2000 cleaner, Texas bluegrass (Poa arachnifera Torr. [Poaceae]) seed was harvested, cleaned, and planted with a no-till drill at Woodward OK, USDA-ARS. Seeds were no-till drilled into clear ground or herbicide killed wheat stubble and stands were established when seeds were drilled on March 22, 2007 and September 15, 2008, when soil moisture was available on the drilling date and for 6-8 weeks after planting. Texas bluegrass is one of a few native, cool-season perennial grasses that have withstood for centuries the region’s heat, droughts, grazing, and produces nutritious and palatable forage during the late fall, winter, and early spring when most warm-season rangeland forages are least preferred by livestock and low in nutrients. The extremely cottony seed head of Texas bluegrass has severely limited its use due to difficulties in harvesting and cleaning the seed to the extent it will flow through a drill. The cleaning and planting method presented here should enable more wide spread use of Texas bluegrass for pasture establishment, inclusion in native mixed seed lots for rangeland restoration, or inclusion in warm-season native pastures lacking a cool-season component.