Annual vs. Perennial Warm-Season Grasses

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Presentation transcript:

Annual vs. Perennial Warm-Season Grasses Ben Tracy Department Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences Virginia Tech bftracy@vt.edu

Potential Feed Available for Grazing Warm Season Grasses Forage Yield Cool Season Grasses Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Feb

Typical Situation Late July Warm-season pasture Cool-season pasture

Relative Advantage ☼ Characteristic Annual Warm-Season Grasses Perennial Warm-Season Grasses Establishment ☼ Productivity Forage Quality Carbon Sequestration/ Nitrogen Retention Inputs Short-term cost Long-term cost Labor/Management

Study Objective How do annual and perennial warm-season pastures compare when integrated within a cool-season pasture rotation? Tracy, B.F., M. Maughan, N. Post, D.B. Faulkner. 2010. Integrating annual and perennial warm-season grasses in a temperate grazing system. Crop Science. 50:2171–2177.

Warm-season Pasture (annual or perennial) Cool-season Pasture

Brown Mid Rib Sorghum - Planted 1st week June Warm-Season Annual Pastures Brown Mid Rib Sorghum - Planted 1st week June

Warm Season Perennial Pastures (Eastern gamagrass, big and little bluestem)

-------------------g m -2----------------- Forage Biomass over Three Years 2005† 2006 2007 July -------------------g m -2----------------- Fescue 252 a 148 c 258 b Annual WSG 215 a 291 b 349 b Perennial NWSG 285 a 903 a 1373 a August 245 c 142 b 180 b 883 a 177 b 313 a 360 b 440 a 322 a

(received 3+inches rain day after June 21, 2006 Weeds! Pigweed and Foxtail Eastern gamagrass Perennial WS pasture Annual WS pasture (received 3+inches rain day after planting)

Forage Quality in 2006- 2nd year of study July† August Fescue Peren. WSG AnnualWSG LSD 0.05 CSG NWSG Annual 2006 CP† 13.8 a 7.4 b 15.2 a 2.1 16.1 a 9.2 b 15.6 a 3.6 ADF 40.8 b 47.1 a 36.3 c 3.1 37.4 b 47.9 a 37.7 b 5.3 NDF 69.1 b 80.5 a 57.2 c 5.2 66.4 b 81.5 a 56.8 c 8.1

------------dollars ha -1--------------- Variable Costs for Pasture Types Perennial WSG Annual WSG 2004 2005 2006 2007 Total ------------dollars ha -1--------------- Seed 64.5 - 6.4 12.0 24.8 Fertilizer 13.7 9.5 12.5 35.7 Field Op. 20.0 20 14.7 5.4 19.7 39.8 Herbicide 7.6 1.4 9.0 6.1 18.9 92.0 93.4 40.9 27.6 50.7 119.2

Preliminary Conclusions Perennial WS pastures may be more dependable in terms of forage availability if climate varies substantially. Annual and perennial WS both work well to fill in summer slump, but there may be an “overlap” in productivity during June that requires added management. Nutritive value on much higher annual pasture, which may benefit some types of livestock. Variable costs ‘add up’ quickly for Annual WS pastures.

Managing clover in permanent pastureland

How much N fertilizer is clover worth? Urea Fertilizer Assume nitrogen is $.50/lbs. Applying 40lbs N as urea costs about $20/acre. Common N response on tall fescue/orchardgrass would increase forage yield by 30%. Clover Assume white clover $4/lbs Applying 2 lbs clover seed costs about $8/ac. With 25-30% clover stand should give you about 40 lbs N. With 30 % clover should expect average 30% increase in forage yield (grass + clover).

Pros and Cons Urea Clover Immediate forage response (usually). Increases fescue toxins. Effect on cattle performance? Increases soil organic matter. Minimal effect on drought resistance. Increases CO2 emissions to atmosphere. Re apply every year. Clover May take months to see forage response. Dilutes fescue toxins. Improves cattle performance. Increases soil organic matter. Improves pasture drought resistance (red clover). Neutral or decreases CO2 emissions to atmosphere. May need to re seed every 3 years (red clover).

Keys to successful frost seeding 1) Reduce standing dead vegetation to 1 inch stubble before overseeding (e.g., mob graze). 2) Frost-seed early during 1st week February. 3) Aggressive rotational grazing in spring to reduce grass competition and allowed clovers to grow enough to establish. 4) Make sure soil fertility is good (adequate P, K and pH) to stimulate clover growth. 5) Hope for good rainfall...