E2B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 16,1985
By Dr. John E. Baylor
Director of Market Development
Beachley-Hardy Seed Company
Warm-Season Grasses
What and How?
Warm-season perennial grasses
such as switchgrass and the
bluestems are not new to the
Northeast. According to Dr. G.A.
Jung of the U.S. Regional Pasture
Research Lab, who has
spearheaded recent research on
these species, these grasses were
widespread in the northeast before
European settlers arrived. So why
all the fuss over them now?
First of all they’re known to be
productive in July and August at
the time cool season grasses are
normally non-productive. They’ve
also had the reputation among
many cattlemen as being weeds.
That’s because through natural
selection some of those early types
became well adapted to our en
vironment. And since they give the
appearance under natural con
ditions as coarse, stiff-stalked
grasses, they leave the impression
they’re low yielding, unpalatable
to livestock and low in quality.
But research by Dr. Jung and
associates over the past several
years has proven that those earlier
impressions just aren’t right. In
fact they’ve shown that these
grasses are:
(1) highly productive from mid-
June to the end of August with
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excellent tolerance of drought and
high temperatures.
(2) high in dry matter
digestability and intake at the
vegetative growth stages. But, as
is true with cool season grasses,
they decline in quality as maturity
advances.
(3) highly efficient users of
water and very efficient users of N
andP.
It has also been shown that these
grasses are probably best used for
pasture and the forage is better
utilized by beef cattle than by
sheep.
The warm-season grasses also
get high marks from the Soil
Conservation Service as
stabilization plants on strip mine
spoil and other critical areas. Once
established they do well on a wide
variety of soils from moderately
deep and deep to rocky soils. For
example switchgrass, a sod
forrmng grass, is tolerant of
somewhat dry,to poorly drained
soils but does poorly on shallow,
ver dry sites. The bunch type
bluestems, on the other hand, seem
to tolerate low rainfall conditions
and are often found on droughty
sites.
Blackwell Switchgrass
Of the warm-season grasses
grown for forage, switchgrass has
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probably gotten the most attention
in Jung’s research her in the
Northeast. It has included variety
comparison, no-till establishment,
lime and fertilizer studies and
grazing trails.
While other selections are get
ting attention, to-date the variety
Blackwell appears best suited to
the Northeast. But if you’re a
cattleman and you get serious
about warm season grasses in your
forage program don’t overlook the
Bluestems and Indiangrass.
Switchgrass is ready to graze
earlier than either Bluestem or
Indiangrass. But the latter 2 may
actually be higher in quality.
Getting Stands
While the potential of swit
chgrass and other grasses for mid
summer grazing has been
determined, establishment has
been both slow and inconsistent.
No-till seeding trials showed that
switchgrass varieties and seed lots
vary in amounts of seed dormancy.
To minimize stand establishment
problems seedins must be made
before mid-May. When early
seedings are made the cold
requirements of the seed is met
and the seed then germinates when
the soil gets warmer.
Seed quality and seed charac
teristics also make getting good
stands a problem. Seeding results
are normally better with a grain
drill, roller-seeder, or no-till drill
than by broadcasting. Switchgrass
can be seeded with standard
equipment. But for other warm
seeded grasses unless debeared
they must be seeded with special
equipment. Blackwell switchgrass
in particular shows tolerance to
atrazme. Thus, when pure plan
tings of Blackwell are made, and
annual grasses and other weeds
are expected to be a problem, the
seeded area can be treated with
two pounds per acre of atrazme to
control competition from these
other plants.
Jung’s research and experiences
by several growers who have used
these grasses successfully suggest
several practices to assure good
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results. For example, don’t put
more than 25 percent of your
available pasture into warm
season grasses. You may get
better seasonal distribution of
pasture by using more than one
warm-season grass. But don’t mix
them.
Lime, phosphorus and potash
requirements for these grasses are
nearly the same as for cool-season
grasses. But avoid nitrogen ap
plications during the seeding year
to minimize weeds and other plant
competition. Also, for established
stands keep N rates on the light
side and don’t apply N until after
warm-season grasses start spring
growth.
Good grazing management is a
Comments
on turkey inspection
WASHINGTON - The U.S.
Department of Agriculture has
extended the public comment
period on its Nov. 8 proposal for a
new slaughter inspection system
for turkeys.
According to Donald L. Houston,
administrator of USDA’s Food
Safety and Inspection Service, the
comment period will end Feb 21
rather than Jan. 7.
"Since the turkey industry is
very busy during the holiday
season, we have granted a request
to extend the comment period on
the proposal,” said Houston. "The
extra 45 days will allow interested
parties sufficient time to study the
proposal and to develop comments
and supporting data.”
The proposal would establish a
voluntary and alternate method of
inspecting turkeys after slaughter.
The method-known as the “new
turkey inspection system”-is
must, too. Rotational grazing is
desirable and over-grazing is
disasterous. Always leave about
six inches of stubble in the field
when you move the cattle.
Yields of warm-season grasses
can be high (four to six tons of hay
equivalent/A) and this production
comes during a short period from
late June through August. Thus for
cattlemen, the addition of native
warm-season grasses to your
existing cool-season grass or
grass-legumes pasture systems
can result in more evenly
distributed forage production over
the grazing season. They will also
enable beef producers to develop a
grazing system that better meets
the nutritional needs of beef cattle
during July and August.
requested
proposal
similar to one now in effect for
chickens.
Comments on the proposal
should be sent, in duplicate to-
FSIS Hearing Clerk, USDA, Room
2637-South, Washington, D C
20250.
A notice of this action appears in
the Jan. 3 Federal Register.