Ardmore, Oklahoma
June 5, 2009
Farmers and ranchers who act now
can improve their chances of successfully establishing tall
fescue, according to research by
The Samuel Noble Foundation.
Noble Foundation agricultural consultants, James Rogers, Ph.D.,
and James Locke, collaborated with the organization’s plant
breeder Andy Hopkins, Ph.D., and agronomist Twain Butler, Ph.D.,
in demonstrating the establishment of tall fescue in seedbeds
that had been prepared to prevent ryegrass and those planted
without treatment.
“Often times ryegrass crowds out plants like tall fescue because
ryegrass is an annual and grows much quicker,” Rogers said.
“Being a perennial, tall fescue spends more time establishing
its root system and is vulnerable to being choked out by
ryegrass. This causes a crop loss for the agricultural
producer.”
The Noble Foundation staff established a demonstration using
various seeding techniques. In half the demonstration plots, the
Noble group eradicated the ryegrass during spring and then again
just prior to planting in the fall. The other plots were left
untreated.
The results were staggering. The treated plots showed almost 100
percent success rate with six inches of healthy tall fescue by
May. Conversely, the other series of plots showed a complete
reversal with a full plot of ryegrass overwhelming the tall
fescue.
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These photos illustrate the demonstration project
discussed in this news release. The first image
shows how ryegrass can completely overtake a stand
of tall fescue that was not properly prepared. The
second image shows healthy, tall fescue in rows. |
“There was essentially no tall
fescue in the untreated plots. It was completely overtaken by
the ryegrass,” Hopkins said. “It is overwhelming evidence that
proper establishment procedures can lead to a healthier crop and
a healthier bottom line.”
Butler emphasized that annual grasses like ryegrass must be
prevented from going to seed in the spring to be effective.
“Farmers and ranchers hoping to keep grassy weeds at bay must
control them during the spring months in addition to applying
more glyphosate to handle emerged grassy weeds at the time of
planting tall fescue in the fall and waiting for autumn
rainfall.”
For a farmer and rancher, seed cost alone for a novel endophyte
infected tall fescue can cost $80 per acre or more. For an
agricultural producer that plants several hundred acres of tall
fescue, their cost will be in the thousands of dollars. Rogers
said many times without the proper seedbed preparation producers
will lose their entire crop of tall fescue and then move away
from using the grass because of the bad experience.
“The message here is simple: Do a good job of establishing the
crop and you will benefit from the persistence and productivity
of the stand,” Rogers said. “It’s like that old saying, ‘An
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’”
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc, headquartered in
Ardmore, Okla., is an independent, nonprofit institute
conducting plant science research, plant breeding and
agricultural programs to enhance agricultural productivity,
which influences agriculture regionally, nationally and
internationally. The Noble Foundation also provides grants to
nonprofit charitable, educational and health organizations. |
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