| Bermudagrass and Weeping Lovegrass - Mixtures for Forage |
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Synopsis
Introduction
Effect of Seedbed Preparation on Establishing Weeping Lovegrass in Existing Bermudagrass
Results and Discussion
Starter Fertilizer Response: Planting Weeping Lovegrass in Bermudagrass
Study Area and Methods
Results and Discussion
Forage Yields of Bermudagrass - Weeping Lovegrass Mixtures
Study Area and Methods
Results and Discussion
References
Bermudagrass-Weeping Lovegrass Pasture Establishment and Management in Practice
Methods of Establishment
Advantages of the Mixture
Fertilization
Grazing and Haying
Soils
Effects of Bermudagrass
Stand Longevity
Failures and Stand Damage
Other Uses
Pollution
References
This information on bermudagrass-weeping lovegrass mixtures was first compiled from research-plot and grazier-pasture information and published in 1976. Although we are racing to the end of the millennium, this updated version is still valid.
Four major changes have occurred since the bulletin was written. First, rotational stocking management (rotational grazing) is much better than it was in the 1970s. Graziers now can do a better job using these mixtures, controlling recovery periods and residue height, and assuring a more uniform composition and longer stand life. Second, several new varieties of bermudagrass perform as well or better than 'Midland' in our region. Third, 'Morpa' Weeping Lovegrass is the major varietal choice today and is used in place of common lovegrass. Another selected variety, Renner, never achieved acceptance by graziers and is not commonly available. 'Ermelo', developed by the Texas Research Foundation and used in some of these studies, is now too obscure to consider. Fourth, an abundance of other forage varieties is available now.
Weeping lovegrass remains the top producer on soils to which it is well adapted; graziers need only apply tested and proven management techniques to be successful with it.
SynopsisSeedbed preparation for establishing weeping lovegrass in existing bermudagrass was about three times better when the bermudagrass was moldboard plowed rather than disked. However, severe disking gave acceptable results. Seedbed preparation to injure and retard bermudagrass is very important because weeping lovegrass does not establish good or uniform stands otherwise.
Nitrogen-phosphate fertilizer banded with weeping lovegrass seed has given 58 to 94 percent better first-season yields and better overall establishment and vigor than plantings without the fertilizer.
Forage yields of a good 'Midland' bermudagrass - 'Ermelo' weeping lovegrass mixture cut for hay averaged 231 percent more than that of pure bermudagrass over a three-year period. The mixture produced 10.6 more tons per acre over a three-and-a-half-year span and cost much less per ton of production. Within a given pasture, the mixture's composition can vary greatly.
Bermudagrass-weeping lovegrass pastures can be established several ways. Establishment can occur in one season or may require two to three seasons.
To maximize the benefits of both grasses, the mixture must be managed with the requirements of a weeping lovegrass pasture at the expense of some bermudagrass stand and production, especially if it is necessary to increase the vigor of weeping lovegrass in the mixture.
The mixture can be used successfully as a recipient of certain industrial wastes for pollution control.
IntroductionBermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) and weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) are produced in Oklahoma, Texas, and sometimes in the southeastern quarter of the United States and other areas. The grasses are warm-season perennials with different characteristics.
Bermudagrass is generally rhizomatous, stoloniferous, and sod-forming. It produces well on a wide range of soils but poorly compared to weeping lovegrass on sandy soils and those of lower-quality uplands. Weeping lovegrass is an erect, dense bunch of grass with a green season four to eight weeks longer than that of bermudagrass. It will have some green leaves throughout mild winters. The grasses vary in drought tolerance, fertilization and rainfall responses, periodic acceptance by livestock, and numerous other factors that led to studies and practical use of the grasses as complementary mixtures.
Objectives of this study and applied use were to evaluate the establishment of weeping lovegrass in existing bermudagrass via seedbed preparation influences, forage production relationships, pasture planting and establishment methods, and pasture and haying management responses.
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