Revitalizing Drought Stressed Pastures

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Revitalizing Drought Stressed Pastures
Chris Teutsch Southern Piedmont AREC Blackstone,
VA
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State of the Pastures

• Extreme drought
• June to present gt35 below normal
• Above average temperatures
• Limited Pasture Growth
• Cool-season grasses dormant
• Overgrazing of Pastures
• Weaken plants
• Reduce regrowth this fall
• Increase weeds

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What now?
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Rest Pastures

• Recovery dependent on rainfall
• Pastures often better that they look
• Pastures grow and store energy up following
  drought stress
• Feed hay and let growth accumulate this fall
• Graze stockpiled grass this winter

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Fertilize Pastures

• Soil Test
• Lime if needed
• P and K according to soil test
• Nitrogen for stockpiling
• 60 to 80 lb N/A
• N source matters
• 42 to 54 per acre
• Fall Fertilization
• 30 to 40 lb N/A in November
• Gets grass ready to grow in spring

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Stockpiling in a Drought Year

• Always a risk-usually rains
• Very rapid growth
• Nitrogen source is important
• Decrease rate as you move into fall
• Quality is better than hay
• Strip grazing yields more grazing days
• Endophyte can be an issue

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Nitrogen Rate and Source
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Nitrogen Source Effects on CP
Stockpiled tall fescue contained 36 more crude
protein than average Virginia hay!
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Nitrogen Source Effects on TDN
Stockpiled tall fescue contained 23 more energy
than average Virginia hay!
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Getting the Most Out of Stockpile

• Always utilize grass-legume mixture first
• Strip graze
• maximizes utilization
• only enough forage for lt7days
• no back fence needed

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Ergovaline in Stockpiled Fescue

• Increases until midDecember (Kallenbach et al.,
  2003)
• Ergovaline gt150 ppb may be toxic
• Decreased to safe levels by early Jan to Feb

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Managing the Endophyte in Stockpile

• Plant and endophyte are synchronized
• Improved pasture management can increase problems
• Increased soil fertility
• Improved grazing management
• Managing the endophyte in stockpile
• Delay use until January
• Use other non-toxic forages first
• Feed hay in late fall
• Use fescue clover

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Interseed Legumes
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Legumes in Grazing Systems

• Benefits of Legumes
• higher yields
• improved quality
• better summer growth
• nitrogen fixation
• DILLUTION of endophyte

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Frost Seeding

• Broadcasting seed on soil surface
• late winter or very early spring
• freezing and thawing incorporates seed
• Works best with red and white clover
• Does not work with grasses and alfalfa
• Preparation begins previous summer
• control broadleaf weeds
• soil test and adjust fertility
• reduce residue by grazing hard

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No-Till Drill

• More effort and attention to detail
• More consistent results
• putting seed in contact with soil
• Can be successful in spring or fall

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• Best method for alfalfa and sericea
• Suppress sod and reduce residue
• Calibrate drill prior to seeding
• Check and recheck seeding depth
• dont take somebodys word
• seeding depth should never be deeper than 1/2
• general rule if you cant see a little seed
  along slit, then you are going too deep
• Control competition after seeding

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Interseeding Winter Annuals into Drought Stressed
Pastures
Annual Ryegrass Variety Trial Southern Piedmont
AREC
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Winter Annuals

• Works best on poor sods
• Sometimes does not work well
• Sods have an extensive root systems
• Rainfall stimulates seed and sod
• Sod out competes seedlings
• Best fits
• Cropland
• Double cropping with summer annual
• Overseeding dormant perennial warm-season grasses

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Annual Ryegrass

• High yielding with excellent quality
• Can be grazed, hayed, or ensiled
• Regrows after cutting until June
• Adapted to wide range of soils
• Consistent production
• Requires nitrogen fertilization
• Overseed bermudagrass or double crop with summer
  annual
• Serious weed in small grains

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Annual Ryegrass Variety Trial-2003
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Small Grains for Forage

• Wheat most versatile
• Rye least exacting soil requirements, earliest
• Barley best on well-drained fertile soils
• Winter oats palatable, lower yielding
• Seed at 1.5 to 3.0 bu/A

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Seeding Rates

• Small Grains (1.5 to 3 bu/A)
• Oats 50 to 100 lb/A
• Wheat 90 to 180 lb/A
• Cereal Rye 85 to 170 lb/A
• Barley 75 to 150 lb/A
• Triticale 75 to 150 lb/A
• Annual Ryegrass
• 20 to 40 lb A
• Annual Ryegrass Small Grain
• 15 to 20 lb/A 60 to 90 lb/A

Red clover 4 to 6 lb/A Ladino 1 to 2 lb/A
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Questions?
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Drought Proofing Pastures

• Chris Teutsch
• Southern Piedmont AREC
• Blackstone, VA

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CAN NOT PREDICT OR PREVENT A DROUGHT
MANAGE FOR RECOVERY
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Maintaining Healthy Pastures

• Soil Fertility
• Healthy Roots
• prevent overgrazing
• Positive CHO Status
• rest period
• Residual Leaf Area
• energy for regrowth osmotic adjustment
• AVOID MULTIPLE STRESSES

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Add Drought Tolerant Legumes
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Red Clover

• Key pasture legume
• Short-lived perennial
• 2 to 3 years
• Easily established
• high vigor
• frost seeding
• Needs good fertility
• pH 6.0-6.5
• Does not reseed
• Seeding rate 4-12 lb/A

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Alfalfa

• Long-lived perennial
• High yielding
• Drought tolerance
• Needs high fertility
• pH 6.5 -7.0
• Rotational grazing
• Does not reseed
• Does not frost seed
• must be drilled
• Seeding Rate 8-20 lb/A

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Sericea Lespedeza

• Long-lived WS legume
• Good quality nonbloating
• Palatability?
• Well drained soil
• Tolerant of low fertility and pH
• Poor seedling vigor
• Rotational grazing
• New variety
• AU Grazer
• Seeding Rate 15-30 lb/A

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Sericea Lespedeza

• Tall fescue growth has slowed or stopped, but
  sericea lespedeza is still going!!

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Annual Lespedeza

• Warm-season annual
• Nonbloating legume
• Tolerant to low pH
• Seeding rate 10-25 lb/A
• Two types
• Striate (Jap Clover)
• prostrate growth
• does not reseed as well
• Korean
• responds to fertility
• higher yields
• drought tolerance
• susceptible to diseases
• dependable reseeding

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Adding Warm-Season Grasses
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Photosynthesis

• Converts light energy to chemical energy
• light, chloroplast
• CO2 H2O SUGAR O2
• Major Pathways
• C3 (cool-season grasses)
• adapted to cooler temperatures
• growth in spring and fall
• C4 (warm-season grasses)
• more efficient at higher temperatures
• more efficient water use

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Growth Curves for Common Forages
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Seeded Bermudagrass

• Bermudagrass is adapted to VA and NC
• Relatively little planted in VA
• Sprigs and sprigging
• do not have equipment and sprig sources
• Seeded bermudagrass
• establish like any small seeded forage
• Cultivar
• single pure variety
• Blend
• mixture of several varieties, AZ common, giant
• same trade name, but different mixture

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Average Yield for 2002-06
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Bermudagrass Variety Trial 2003
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Annual Forages

• Supply forage during summer and winter deficit
  periods
• Advantages
• fast germination and emergence
• rapid growth
• high productivity and quality
• flexibility of utilization
• Disadvantages
• Establishment cost 120 to 140
• increased risk of stand failures
• hard to cure

Profitable grazing systems will be based on well
adapted perennial sods that are supplemented with
annuals.
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Crabgrass

• Well adapted to southern and eastern VA
• Annual that acts like a perennial (reseed)
• Double cropped with winter annual
• Species of opportunity
• Good yield potential
• Excellent forage quality
• Higher than bermudagrass
• No prussic acid
• Nitrate accumulator
• Red River only variety

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Lower Stocking Densities

• Most pastures stocked at 2 A/cow-calf some hay
• Why not stock at 3 to 4 A/cow-calf and feed less
  hay
• Let forage stand in spring rather than clipping

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Stockpiling Tall Fescue for Summer Grazing?

• Novel endophyte may work well for summer
  stockpiling
• Possible stockpiling scenario
• Graze or harvest first cutting
• Apply 40-60 lb N/A and allow to regrow
• Utilize growth during summer

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Conclusion

• Drought resistant pastures will be based on
  forage species that well adapted and well
  managed.