Helping Pastures Recover From Drought

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Helping Pastures Recover From Drought

• Dr. Richard W. Taylor, Extension Agronomist
• University of Delaware

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Thanks

• My thanks to Dr. Chris Teutsch from the Va Tech
  Southern Piedmont ARE Center in Blackstone, VA
  for his contributions to this presentation

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Its a Good News/Bad News Situation

• The Good News First
• Pastures and especially those well-managed ones
  look worse than they are
• Use this opportunity to add legumes to your
  pastures
• White or Ladino clover
• Red clover
• Grazing type alfalfas
• Annual lespedezas
• Introduce new grass species
  (varieties) to your pastures
• Festuloliums
• Seeded or sprigged bermudagrass

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Good News/Bad News Situation

• The Bad News
• Pastures need a rest especially if youre
  reseeding
• Youll need extra hay or grain supplements to
  bide animals over until the pasture recovers
• Hay and grain prices are near highs
• Not as Bad
• Western alfalfa may become your lowest cost
  alternative

Compressed lge western hay bales cut into small
bales
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Order of Business

• Review your records
• How is your soil fertility?
• How much time do you have to manage the pastures?
• Do you have pasture replacement options?
• Stored forage/roughage
• Grains or other supplements/feed extenders
• Evaluate what you have left
• Walk your pastures and make notes on whats
  present and how much is left alive
• Evaluate after rain

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Evaluating Drought Affected Established Stands

• Species dependent
• Rainfall to green up standsWeve had enough rain
  but cold weather may hamper evaluations before
  spring green-up so do your best
• Counts
• Procedures
• Random spot counts
• Can you use Mgt zones
• Number counts per field
• Averages

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Evaluating Drought Affected New Stands

• Renewed growth must be present to take accurate
  counts
• Stand countsWhat do they mean?
• Best guess
• Reviewed
• No better guesses
• Non-research based
• Modify with your experiences

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Tiller Counts

• new tillers per square foot
• Tillers arise either from underground rhizomes,
  stems growing along the soil surface (stolons) or
  from the plant crown
• 2-3 wks after enough rain to renew growth

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Tillers from Stolons, Crowns, or Rhizomes
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Plants or Crowns
Orchardgrassa single plant
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Stand Evaluation

• Construct a 1-, 2-, or 4-ft2 rectangle or square
  from stiff wire or wood (molding works well)
• Alt. use a line-transect (50 to 100 points)
• Randomly walk fd dropping square
• Record plts or tillers
• Make at least 10 to 20 cts/fd
• Do more if field is variable
• Compare to guidelines

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Minimum Stand Targets

• Species Measure Target
• Ky bluegrass Tillers/shoots 15-20/sq. ft.
• Tall fescue Plants/crowns 5-8/sq. ft. (new fds)
• 2-3/sq. ft. (older fds)
• Tillers 15/sq. ft. (either case)
• Orchardgrass Plants/crowns 5-8/sq. ft.
• Smooth brome Tillers 8-12/sq. ft.
• reed canarygrass Plants/crowns 3-5/sq. ft.
• Timothy Plants/crowns 6-10/sq. ft.
• Ryegrasses Plants/crowns 5-8/sq. ft.
• Festuloliums Plants/crowns 3-5/sq. ft.

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What Can be Done to Help?

• Stands are adequate for complete recovery
• Rest pastures
• Improve fertility levels
• Interseed or overseed esp w/legumes
• Control weeds if needed
• Stands are inadequate or very questionable
• All of the above plus renovation or serious
  overseeding

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Pasture Rest

• During summer droughts
• Pull animals off
• Use sacrifice lots to feed hay/roughages
• Limit N fertilization
• Coming out of a drought
• Rest the pasture by feeding hay and keeping
  animals off in late summer and fall
• Allows the plants to rebuild their photosynthetic
  factorythe leaf canopy
• Plants will use the leaf canopy to capture
  sunlight and produce sugars/CHOs needed for
  winter survival and renewed spring growth
• After the soil temperatures decline, regrowth can
  be grazed during the winter if conditions permit

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Fertilize Ahead to Lessen Impact

• Have a Fertilization/Nutrient Management Plan
• Soil test regularly and observe changes over time
• Preventative
• Lime
• Split P K
• Legumes in pastures
• Inoculate for best N fixation
• Lessen need for N fertilizer
• Improve forage distribution

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Fertilize to Aid Recovery

• NitrogenTake a hint from Turf/Lawn Specialists
• Late summer/early fall N (50-75 lb N/A)
• Increases top growth
• Fall accumulation of forage for winter grazing
• Increases plt CHO/energy reserves
• Late fall (Nov) N (30-40 lb/A)
• Little top growth evident until spring
• Stimulates tiller production
• Stimulate root growth
• Sod thickens faster in spring

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Thickening Your Pasture with Seed

• Overseeding
• Aerial broadcast seeding
• Fall/late summer walk-on/walk-in seeding
• Some do this annually
• Frost-Crack Seeding
• Done in late winter when temperatures fluctuate
  above below 32 F
• Best for small seeded legumes
• May work some for grasses that rapidly establish
  and are small seeded

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• No-Till
• Sometimes equipment is available from NRCS county
  office
• Requires sod suppression (heavy grazing prior to
  seeding and for a time afterwards or via
  herbicides or weakened stand)
• Can be used with most species
• Conventional seedbed preparation
• Sprigging in bermudagrass
• Planting slow to establish grasses or legumes
• Ensuring a better success rate

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Legume Selection

• Voted most likely to succeed were
• Red clover (photo on left)
• Slightly larger seed, 2 year effectiveness, very
  competitive even in heavy canopies
• For this appl. use less expensive seed, up to 4
  lb/acre in pastures and 8 lb/acre in hay fields
• White clover (large types, often referred to as
  Ladino types)
• Very small seeded, perennial but shallow root
  system hurt by droughts
• Needs little soil disturbance to be planted
• Use less exp seed but you need only ½ to 1 lb/A
  most times

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Ideas for Aiding Recovery

• Weed control is often necessary now or later if
  recovery is slow
• Competition for light, water, nutrients
• Weeds often have competitive edge
• Old rope wicks
• Mowing
• Herbicides

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Summary

• Once rain comes
• Rest pastures
• Fertilize pastures
• Seed in legumes frost crack, no-till drill,
  walk-on or a broadcast overseeding (best with
  RC)
• Overseed with improved grasses or use the
  opportunity to introduce something new
• Weed control may be needed especially if recovery
  is slow