Pasture Renovation

1
Pasture Renovation
2
Pasture Renovation

• Restore pasture production
• Causes
• Compaction
• Machinery
• Livestock
• Drought Damage
• Poor Fertility Management
• pH, K, micronutrients
• nutrient stratification

3
Symptoms for Renovation

• Reduced forage production
• Thin stands
• Reduced rhizome number vigor
• Weed invasion
• Broadleaves
• Grasses
• annual
• perennial
• Poor infiltration and drainage
• Rough surface

4
Renovation Practices and Requirements

• Minimum
• Soil testing
• Fertilization
• Weed Control
• Prescribed burning
• Grazing management
• Reduced stocking rate
• Increase stubble ht.

• Extensive
• Intensive grazing management
• Subsoiling/chiseling
• Discing/plowing
• Replanting
• Heavy fertilization

5
Soil Testing

• Identify Fields
• Multiple samples
• Individual fields
• Stratification
• 0-2
• 2-6
• Composite and Mail
• Multiple Labs
• TAMU
• others

6
Nutrient Stratification

• Nutrient Movement
• Root interception
• Mass Flow
• Diffusion
• Stratification
• P, Ca, Zn, Cu, etc.
• mostly during cold (January) or dry (August)
  periods

7
Soil Fertility

• Chemical
• Soil pH
• Nitrogen
• Phosphorus
• Potassium
• Secondary
• Micronutrients

• Physical
• Texture
• Structure
• Infiltration rate
• Utility
• Aesthetics
• Crop selectivity

8
Liebergs Law of Limits
9
Nutrient removed (lbs./ac) by grazing and hay
production
10
Fertility Management

• Nitrogen Bermudagrass
• Grazing180 units/year include recycled
• Hay most responsive with early harvests
• Hybrid Bermuda 100 units/cutting, split
• others 60 units/cutting
• Phosphorus
• 60 - 120 units per year
• pH dependent
• build up with manure

11
Fertility Management

• Potassium Tricky
• Grazing limited
• Hay depletion
• First indication Winter kill
• Late application may be more important
• examine roots in late summer
• fertilize for Ryegrass Requirements

12
Fertility Management

• Soil pH
• limits nutrient availability
• Cool season more intolerant
• Ryegrass/small grains pHgt5.8
• Clover
• pHlt7 white, crimson, subterranean, arrowleaf,
  lespedeza
• pHgt7alfalfa, berseem, sweetclover, vetch, medics
  (?)

13
Fertility Management

• Secondary Ca, Mg, S.
• Ca, Mg adjust with lime
• Sulfur becoming more important
• Micronutrients Zn, Cu, others
• responsive if major nutrient needs are met
• pH regulates
• pHlt5.5 Zn, Cu, others
• pHgt7.5 Fe, others
• manure build up of Cu

14
Weed Control

• Limited Herbicides
• Multiple options
• Integrated Management
• Multiple uses
• Multiple methods

15
Weed Control Methods

• Herbicides
• Tillage
• Defoliation
• Mowing
• Grazing
• Good Management
• Fertility
• Carbohydrate Management
• Shading/mulching

16
Basic Principles of Chemical Weed Control

• Know your weeds
• Choose the right herbicide
• Calibrate your sprayer
• Spray at the proper time

17
Know Your Weeds

• 300 different species in East Texas Pastures

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Few Economically Significant

• Woolly Croton Milkweed
• Pigweed Berryvine
• Ragweed Thistles
• Bitterweed Buttercup
• Horsenettle Grassburs
• Dogfennel Bahiagrass
• Dallisgrass Crabgrass

19
Weed Identification

• Plant type
• Growing pattern
• annual, biennial, perennial
• Leaf Shape
• Reproductive organs
• Flowering heads
• stems and roots

20
Battle PlanChemical Weed Control Principles

• Starve the weed, feed the crop
• Spray annual weeds when they are young and
  actively growing
• Spray perennial weeds when they are at full leaf
  or fruit set

21
Labeled Herbicides

• 2,4-D annual broadleaf
• Banvel Weedmaster
• pre-emergent activity
• Picloram Grazon PD
• Sulfanyl Urea Ally, Amber
• specific weed tolerance and susceptibility
• Rave Amber Banvel
• Roundup new uses
• Gramoxone Use late in afternoon
• Velparsmutgrass

22
Integrated Weed Control

• Establishment
• timely planting date
• timely appropriate fertility
• timely herbicide application

• Established
• Proper NPK ratio
• Reduce overgrazing
• Multiple benefit herbicide application

23
Effect of N Rate, herbicide and covercrop on weed
production
24
Chemical Desiccation of Dallisgrass Sod
25
Prescribed Burning

• Earliest recorded form of grass management
• Multiple benefits (residue removal, control of
  spring weeds, increased infiltration)
• Effective on young annual weeds
• Ineffective on many perennial weeds
• Fuel load is critical

26
Fire

• Timing is critical
• May damage crop plant
• VERY RISKY, HIGH LIABILITY
• Not recommended to most producers, land owners or
  anyone
• Check with Law Enforcement and Fire Stations
  first.

27
Stocking rate responses

• Animal Production
• decreases with increased stocking rate (decrease
  forage availability)
• Forage availability
• decreases with increased stocking rate and/or
  forage growth. So do TNCs
• Soil and sward
• compaction increases with increased stocking rate
  during wet periods

28
Stubble height

• Carbohydrate management
• overgrazing fall regrowth depletes TNCs
• weakened plant is susceptible to winter kill
• leave 4 stubble going into winter
• Mulching
• fall weed control
• Burning
• fire fuel

29
TillagePlowing/Subsoiling

• Sod Damage
• Bahiagrass control
• Discing/plowing
• Incorporates OM Nutrients
• Smoothes surface
• Expensive/replant
• Subsoiling/chiseling
• Breaks pans
• loosens soil

30
Subsoiling/plowing

• Multiple Implements
• paraplow, aeroway, etc.
• standard chisel or disc
• Timing
• During dormancy
• preferably drier soil
• increase pan shatter
• prior to spring rains
• bermuda recovery

31
Replanting

• Annuals
• Sudans Clay
• Millets Sand
• Perennials
• Bermudagrass
• hybrid nonhybrid
• Bahiagrass
• Pensacola, Tifton 9
• Dallisgrass, others

32
Replanting

• Bermudagrass
• Standards
• Coastal, Tifton-44
• New
• Hybrid Tifton-85, Jiggs, Brazos
• Seeded Varieties
• easy replanting
• Cheyenne, others
• GiantNK37
• None severely tested by cold weather

33
Intensive Grazing
34
Renovation Summary

• Minimum
• Soil testing Fertilization
• Weed Control
• Limited herbicides
• Integrated control
• Prescribed burning
• Grazing Mgmt
• Reduced stocking rate
• Stubble ht.

• Extensive
• Subsoiling/chiseling or Discing/plowing
• Replanting
• Heavy fertilization
• Intensive grazing management