Red river crabgrass hay

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Red River Crabgrass is gaining a reputation as a high ­quality forage instead of as a weed. Palatability and forage quality are excellent. It is useful for providing high­ quality summer pasture or hay to support good animal performance for stocker calves, dairy cattle, small ruminants and horses. Even with its unfounded reputation as a weed, the forage quality of crabgrass is typically better than that of most other summer grasses, such as bermudagrass, bahiagrass, pearl millet or sorghum sudan hybrids. Research showed that common crabgrass quality remained high even as plants reached maturity. 

Plant Characteristics: Crabgrass is an annual warm‐season grass. It grows 2 to 4 feet tall in a creeping manner with long stolons. Crabgrass is very leafy with sparse hairs, long hairs at collars, and tall ligules. The seed head has 3 or more spikes. 

Establishment: Crabgrass is well adapted throughout Mississippi. Much of the crabgrass used is from volunteer stands, often behind winter annuals. It reseeds well, and has good seedling vigor. Crabgrass can be established from seed in March to May at a seeding rate of 4 to 6 lb/acre. It has fair tolerance to drought and low tolerance to poor drainage. 

Fertilization: Crabgrass has good tolerance to soil acidity. It responds very well to nitrogen. 

Grazing/Hay Management: Crabgrass is used for pasture and hay, although it can be difficult to cure for hay. It is considered a weed in many farming situations. Most forage production occurs from May to September. Crabgrass has excellent grazing tolerance. With adequate fertilization, crabgrass will support good stocking rates.

Forage Quality:  The crude protein (CP) concentration of crabgrass declined in a narrow range from 21 percent in the vegetative stage in July to 15.9 percent at the milk stage in late August. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) content showed relatively little change over the same time span. Due to the lower fiber content, crabgrass forage was digested 44 percent faster in the rumen than high-quality bermudagrass hay. 

 Argentine is a broadleaf variety introduced in 1944 from Argentina, with seeding and spreading characteristics similar to Pensacola; it usually puts up fewer seed heads than Pensacola, however. Argentine is better adapted to fairly well-drained soils that maintain good moisture during the summer. Its quality is the highest of all cultivars. The only recommended area for its use is southern Gulf Coast States because it is easily damaged by hard freezes and does not begin growth as early in the spring. Forage quality of bahiagrass hay is usually lower than for bermudagrass and other forages, but if well managed, it can be of good quality that matches nutritional needs of several classes of livestock.

Plant Characteristics: Bahiagrass is a perennial warm‐season grass distinguished by J‐shaped, purplish rhizomes. Seed heads have 2 or 3 spikes attached at a common point. Bahiagrass forms a very dense sod and grows 12 to 20 inches tall.

Establishment: Bahiagrass is well adapted to the central and southern part of Gulf Coast Region but is also grown in the northern part of these states as well. It has excellent tolerance to drought and good tolerance to poor drainage conditions. Seedling vigor is poor. Bahiagrass can be established from March to April at seeding rate of 15 to 20 lb/acre. Plant bahiagrass ¼ to ½ inch deep. Fertilization: Bahiagrass is adapted to sandy and sandy loam soils. It is tolerant to low fertility and soil acidity. It is also extremely competitive, making it difficult to grow in mixtures with legumes. Bahiagrass has a good response to nitrogen and potassium. Inadequate potassium results in low hay yields, especially if hay is harvested from the same pasture for several years. 

Grazing/Hay Management: Bahiagrass can be used for pasture or hay. It is also useful for erosion control. Most forage production occurs from April to October with hay yields ranging from 2 to 5 tons/acre. It can tolerate close grazing. Start grazing at 6 to 10 inches forage height, and end grazing at 1 to 2 inches forage height. Allow 10 to 20 days rest between grazing. Bahiagrass can be overseeded with small grains or annual ryegrass. 

Forage Quality: Forage quality is typically lower than bermudagrass. Hay is generally 9 to 11% CP and 50 to 56% TDN. Bahiagrass quality tends to decline sharply late in the growing season. 

Bermuda grasses are a group of warm season, deep-rooted perennial pasture grasses used for grazing and hay in the South. Approximately half of the entire permanent pasture acreage in Gulf Coast Region is devoted to growing bermudagrass. The bermudagrasses are adapted to a variety of soils and provide as much or more grazing than any of the other summer pasture grasses. 

Plant Characteristics: Bermudagrass is a warm‐season perennial grass that is spread by stolons, rhizomes, or seed. It has hairy ligules. Seed heads have 3 to 5 slender spikes connected at a common point. Hybrids are deep rooted. Bermudagrass grows 15 to 24 inches tall. 

Establishment: Bermudagrass is extremely drought tolerant and can be planted throughout the state. Adaptation varies by cultivar. Plant hulled bermudagrass seed in spring at a seeding rate of 5 to 10 lb/acre. Seeding depth is 0 to ½ inches. Hybrid bermudagrass propagated by sprigs should be planted at a rate of 10 bu/acre in rows or broadcast and covered at rates of 25 to 40 bu/acre. Potassium deficiency increases leaf spot. sa/b  disease. Armyworms and spittlebug can reduce yields. It is extremely tolerant of drought but has low tolerance to poor drainage. 

Fertilization: Bermudagrass is best adapted to sandy soils. It tolerates soil acidity very well and is highly responsive to N fertilization. Total requirements for N and K are similar. Inadequate K fertilization is the most common cause of stand declines. Leaf Spot is more likely when soil K levels are low. Grazing/Hay Management: Bermudagrass is widely utilized throughout Mississippi for pasture and hay. Most forage production occurs late May to October with hay yields ranging from 2 to 6 tons/acre for common bermudagrass and 5 to 8 tons/acre for hybrid bermudagrass. Hay should be harvested at 4 to 6 weeks intervals. Close grazing helps maintain forage quality. Start grazing at 4 to 8 inches forage height, and end grazing at 1 to 2 inches forage height. Allow 1 to 2 week rest between grazing. Annual clovers and winter annual grasses can be overseeded in autumn for winter‐spring forage. Forage 

Quality: Forage quality varies by maturity and cultivar: Coastal bermudagrass harvested at 4‐ weeks (CP 10 to 14%, TDN 52 to 58%); Coastal bermudagrass harvested at 8‐weeks (CP 6 to 8%, TDN 45 to 50%); common bermudagrass (CP 9 to 11%, TDN 50 to 56%); Tifton 85 is generally the highest quality cultivar. 

Varieties: Cheyenne, Coastal,, Sumrall 007.