Improving Tall Fescue Production in Northwest Missouri with Legumes and Timing of Nitrogen Application: A Producer s Guide

Transcription

1 Improving Tall Fescue Production in Northwest Missouri with Legumes and Timing of Nitrogen Application: A Producer s Guide

2 Thanks to Bruce Burdick, Superintendent, Hundley-Whaley Ag Experiment Station, and staff for their assistance; Missouri Southern Seed and Hoffman and Reed, Trenton, for supplying seed; Dr. Robert Kallenbach, State Forage Specialists, for his expertise in demonstration design and supplying equipment; Bob Kelly, Ag Business Specialist, for providing the Gerry mower. Extension specialists involved with the project: Shawn Deering, Amie Schleicher, Jim Humphrey, Livestock Specialists; Randa Doty, Ag Business Specialist; Heather Benedict and Wayne Flanary, Agronomists.

3 Using Legumes and Nitrogen Application Timing In Tall Fescue to Improve Forage Production Study conducted by Northwest Missouri Regional Ag Extension Specialists and Dr. Rob Kallenbach, State Forage Specialist, University of Missouri Extension Objective To demonstrate the use of different legumes to reduce the need for nitrogen fertilizer and nitrogen application timing to improve forage production. Procedures Plots were established at the Hundley-Whaley Research Center in spring of 2008 in an area in which tall fescue had been used as a parking area during field days. Plots were established measuring 9 X 15 feet with 10 foot alleys with four replications in a randomized complete block design. Legumes were overseeded March 16. Legume plots were clipped April 25 to prevent competition of grasses with emerging legume seedlings. Nitrogen application rate of 60 pounds per acre was applied as urea with the addition of the mid-rate of Agrotain. Plots were harvested with a bagging lawn mower and grab samples taken from each replication for measuring moisture. Plots were cut at 3.5 inch height. A two foot strip was left uncut along the side of the plot until the August harvest date to demonstrate the impact of the treatments. At that time, all plot areas were mowed. Legumes were harvested in early bloom stage and tall fescue at heading. Nitrogen plots were harvested if there was measurable regrowth. Results of the Establishment Year The spring of 2008 was extremely wet, and native white clover existed in many plots including the control treatment. The nitrogen plots without legumes were spot sprayed with 2,4-D. Overall, the overseeded legumes contributed significant amounts of dry matter during the seeding year. Many of the legumes produced more dry matter than the value of 60 pounds of nitrogen. Tall fescue and legume regrowth was slowed during the dry month of August. Lespedeza, even though relatively drought resistant, was impacted. The application of nitrogen stimulated the tall fescue and competed with red clover causing it to be smothered. The control treatment yielded higher than three other treatments resulting from existing white clover in the tall fescue sod. Also, the plot in which the 60 lbs of nitrogen was applied in August was not harvested in October because of limited regrowth.

4 60 N Mar + 60 N June + 60 N Aug Durana White Common Red 60 N Mar + 60 N Aug 60 N Mar + Red Alfalfa Birdsfoot Trefoil Kopu II White 60 N Mar 60 N Aug + Red 0 N White + Alsike Lespedeza 60 N Aug Lbs. D.M Lbs DM/Acre Establishment Year Forage Yield Results Treatment Position-adjusted yield average (lbs DM/acre) Statistical grouping 60 N (March 15) + 60 N (June 1) + 60 N (Aug 15) 6243 a White (Durana) 5874 ab Red 5786 ab 60 N (March 15) + 60 N (Aug 15) 5387 bc 60 N (March 15) + Red 4913 cd Alfalfa 4892 cd Birdsfoot Trefoil 4228 de White (Kopa II) 3945 ef 60 N (March 15) 3165 fg 60 N (Aug 15) + Red 2981 g 0 N (Check) 2593 gh White (Kopa II) + Alsike 1961 hi Lespedeza 1793 hi 60 N (Aug 15) 1744 i Statistical grouping indicates treatments with same letters are not statistically different. Effect of Legumes and Nitrogen Application Timing on Forage Yield Treatments

5 Above left--red clover without March application of nitrogen. Above right--60 lbs nitrogen applied in March smothered the red clover. Bottom--close up picture of same treatments. Pictures taken May 30, 2008.

6 2008 Hundley Whaley Forage Plot Budget Summary- Establishm Treatment Common Red Birdsfoot Trefoil Alfalfa Kopu II White D C Estimated Forage Value/Acre % of total harvest May 30 Harvest June 16 Harvest % of total harvest 75.86% % 91.32% 88.80% August 13 Harvest % of total harvest August 28 Harvest % of total harvest 24.14% 8.68% 11.20% October 17 Harvest % of total harvest 2008 Total Yield lbs of DM Value of Production/Acre $82.35 per ton/dm $ $ $ $ Seed Costs Legume Seeding Rate lbs/acre Fertility Cost Seed Cost per lb nd Legume Seeding Rate lbs/acre 2nd Seed Cost per lb Broadcast Seed with ATV $5.00 per acre Total Seed Cost/Acre Seed + Seeding $28.50 $33.80 $43.50 $11.90 Nitrogen Rate (lbs/acre) lbs/acre Total N Cost per acre $1.02 lb of N (Urea) Agrotain Cost $0.04 Agrotain/lb of N Application Charge per Acre $5.00 per acre Total fertility Cost/Acre N + Agrotain + Application $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Total Cost Total Cost per Acre Seed + Fertility $28.50 $33.80 $43.50 $11.90 Income over fertility and seed cost per acre $ $ $ $ $ Value of production is compared to hay values. Hay price is on a 100% dry matter basis. Hay valued at $88.24 dry matter b 85% dry matter. 1No harvest results for October.

7 ent Year urana White lover Common Lespedeza Kopu II White + Alsike 0 Nitrogen 60 N March 60 N Aug 1 60 N Mar + Red 60 N Aug + Red 60 N Mar, Aug 60 N - Mar, June, Aug 61.69% 65.74% 53.89% 60.93% 39.88% 89.48% 53.67% 74.40% % 50.18% 10.52% 46.33% 25.60% 33.67% 34.26% 21.20% 34.68% 4.64% 24.91% 49.82% 39.07% 25.44% $ $73.83 $80.75 $ $ $71.81 $ $ $ $ $13.25 $57.50 $12.45 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $28.50 $28.50 $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $68.60 $68.60 $68.60 $68.60 $ $ $13.25 $57.50 $12.45 $0.00 $68.60 $68.60 $97.10 $97.10 $ $ $16.33 $68.30 $ $61.72 $3.21 $ $25.65 $89.62 $61.26 asis equals $70 per ton as-fed at

8 Steer Gain (lb/day) Understanding Fescue Toxicosis What causes it? Endophyte-infected tall fescue is the predominant pasture forage in northwest Missouri. It has many benefits such as stand persistence, yield potential, nutritional quality (spring and fall), disease, drought, and insect resistance, it withstands overgrazing, and has the ability to be used as a stockpiled forage. Unfortunately, it also has the major drawback of the endophyte (a fungus growing inside the plant) and the problems it causes as well as the summer dormancy period where production and quality come to a standstill. The endophyte itself is a double-edged sword because it helps the plant with persistence and resistance, but causes problems with the animals that consume it. The endophyte is not really the culprit, but rather the compounds that it produces. These compounds (ergot alkaloids) cause reduced animal gains and milk production, increased core body temperatures, lowered conception rates, heat stress, immunosuppression, rough hair coats, reduced feed intake, frozen tails, noses, etc. in the winter, and fescue foot. The main ergot alkaloid that has been identified in tall fescue is ergovaline. Ergovaline can be found in all parts of the plant, but the highest concentrations occur in the seed head of the plant. Ergovaline is a vasoconstrictor, which means it constricts blood vessels thereby reducing blood flow, especially to the extremities. An interesting note is that ergovaline is actually stored in the fatty tissue of animals consuming infected tall fescue. Because of this, animals may exhibit fescue toxicosis for an extended period of time after the fescue has been removed from the diet. Practical Management Strategies One strategy is simply to eliminate infected tall fescue. While this seems to be the obvious answer, it is easier said than done and can also be very expensive. There are other strategies that can help. One is overseeding the fescue stand with legumes. This helps dilute the fescue in the diet and also increases the nutritional content of the forage. Overseeded legumes can also help with the summer slump period by providing additional forage at a time when the fescue is at its worst. Another strategy is to simply supplement the animals with another feedstuff such as corn (limit to.5% of body weight), high protein feed source such as soybean meal, or high-fiber by-product feeds such as soyhulls, distillers grains, or corn gluten feed. If possible, rotation to an pasture fee of infected fescue during the hot summer months can also help reduce problems. Native grasses as well as summer annuals could be a very important component of an overall grazing plan. Nitrogen fertilization should be managed carefully as well because high nitrogen levels will increase the alkaloid concentration. Keeping fescue in a vegetative state by preventing seed heads from forming will also help reduce alkaloid concentrations. Another thing to consider, especially for cow-calf producers, is to strategically cull and select for animals that have more tolerance to fescue. An easy way to accomplish this is to keep those animals that are naturally slick haired and shed their winter hair coats easily. Those that tend to shade up and live in the ponds during the summer months might be candidates for new homes. Summary Animals exhibiting the classic fescue toxicosis symptoms. Average Daily Gain of Steers Grazing Tall Fescue Pastures with Different Toxicity Levels with or without Although endophyte-infected tall fescue has its problems, it is without a doubt the toughest and most productive cool-season grass that we have available in northwest Missouri. With proper forage and animal management, it can be a very valuable asset to any beef and forage operation Low E+ Mod E+ High E+ Low E+ with Mod E+ with Pasture Type in the Summer of the Year Thompson, et. al., 1993, Journal of Animal Science High E+ with

9 Extension Recommendations for Establishing Legumes in Grass Pastures Establishing legumes into grass pastures enhances forage quality, increases summer production and furnishes nitrogen to grass pastures. Avoid spring application of nitrogen when establishing legumes as grasses are stimulated by nitrogen causing shading of legumes. Establishing legumes is cheaper than topdressing grass with nitrogen. Utilize mid-august nitrogen application timing for stock-piling tall fescue pastures while reducing the impact of nitrogen on spring legume growth.. Pasture improvement with legumes will have to be managed. Legumes will not last typically because of drought, over-grazing, diseases, lack of fertility and wrong analysis of fertilizer. Methods of establishing legumes in grass pastures If broadleaf weeds are a problem, spraying is the easiest way to control them. Spray before beginning the renovation, usually in spring or summer before legume establishment is started. Apply lime, phosphorus and potassium as needed prior to or during this period. Don't use nitrogen in the fertilizer mix because it stimulates the older grass and decreases the young legumes chances of becoming established. Method 1. Overgraze grass during fall and early winter. Broadcast the legume without any tillage on top of the soil surface by February 15. The winter freezing and thawing will cover the seed. Method 2. Till the sod in late fall or early winter so that 40 to 50 percent of it is disturbed. During winter, the legume seed is either broadcast or drilled into the partially opened sod. Method 3. Use a chemical to retard the grass growth and no-till legumes into pasture. In early spring, remove grass growth to allow the young legumes to establish a root system. Use large numbers of cattle to overgraze the grass quickly. Clipping is the second choice. Continue to graze new seedlings in the spring until livestock begin to bite off the young legumes. Then rest the pasture for four or five weeks. Practice rotational grazing following the rest period until about September 1 to 10. At that time, avoid grazing a new legume stand until cold weather has begun. Don't overgraze during the establishment summer. If weeds start competing, mow them. Watch legumes carefully to determine if they are being smothered and take action. A good management technique is to make annual applications of legume seeds to your pastures. This will allow a build-up of hard seed such as that of red clover that eventually will establish legumes without reseeding. The use of legumes will require continued management as drought, overgrazing and other factors will reduce stands.

10 Select Legumes Best Suited to Soil Conditions and Use 1 Ease of Establishment Matching Grass Specie with Legume Red Alfalfa Birdsfoot Trefoil Relatively easy, more shade tolerant than other legumes Fits tall fescue, orchardgrass, smooth brome Requires well drained soils and not very shade tolerant Fits bluegrass, orchardgrass and timothy; brome and alfalfa good hay crop Competition from grasses must be controlled 4 Fits bluegrass, orchardgrass and timothy, poor choice with tall fescue White s Footnote 1,2,5,6,7,8 Easy Grows with all adapted cool season grasses Annual Lespedeza Easy, most growth midsummer on Grows with all adapted cool season grasses but best with orchardgrass Yield Medium/High High Medium/Low Medium/Low Lowest yielding of legumes but less production costs Quality High quality Excellent quality Palatable and high High High and palatable Soils Wide range of Must have well Wide range of Wide range of Wide range of soils drained soils soils soils soils Soil ph Requirements phs 6.0 phs 6.5 phs >5.5 phs >5.5 >5.0 Minimum Phosphorus and Potassium Fertility in lb/acre P 25; K 250 P 40; K 300 P 20; K 225 P 25; K 250 P 20; K 200 Inoculants Rhizobium trifolii Rhizobium meliloti Rhizobium loti Rhizobium trifolii Bradyrhizobium japonicum spp. Drought Resistant Medium High High Low Medium Bloat Grazing Management Stand Longevity Bloat is less Bloat Non-bloating Bloat 2 Non-bloating than alfalfa and white clover Rest September through October Do not graze between mid September to killing frost Re-established Must allow every 2-3 years regrowth so (new varieties alfalfa will increase persistence) grazing alfalfa persist unless variety Suited to controlled continuous grazing; avoid grazing from September through Mid October 4 Graze early to prevent smothering 8 Less persistent Short-lived than lespedeza and clover, caused by root and crown rot; manage as short lived perennial; allow to reseed in September Withstands heavy trampling; production during summer Annual reseeds itself Usefulness Hay, pasture Hay, pasture Pasture Pasture Pasture, hay

11 Seeding Rates into Existing Pastures 3 Practice Red Alfalfa Birdsfoot Trefoil White s Annual Lespedeza Broadcast on undisturbed soils Broadcasting on tilled soils Drilling in prepared seedbeds Annual overseeding Guide White, Ladino and Sweet ; Guide Tall Fescue; Guide Renovating Grass Sods with Legumes; Guide Birdsfoot Trefoil; Guide Annual Lespedeza; Guide Smooth Bromegrass; Guide Red ; Guide Alfalfa 2 Maintain a uniform grass/clover stand with the clover not contributing more than 40 percent of the stand. Uneven stands of grass and ladino seem to be particularly dangerous. As a general rule, do not turn hungry cattle onto white clover pastures, especially those pastures wet with dew. There occasionally have been cases of prussic acid poisoning with white clover. But not all plants of white or ladino clover will cause prussic acid poisoning. 3 Guide Renovating Grass Sods with Legumes 4 Trefoil does not replenish its root reserves until fall and must depend upon photosynthesis from its leaves to supply energy for all of its regrowth during the late spring and summer. After about the first of September, trefoil once again will attempt to build up its root reserves that have been depleted since the first spring growth. This is why stands of trefoil fail. Controlled continuous grazing that never completely removes all the trefoil leaves from the plants gives better results than complete defoliation followed by a rest period. Trefoil's different way of storing root reserves explains why summer stockpiling of large amounts of growth usually results in stand depletion following the removal of this growth by heavy grazing. It also explains why using it as a hay crop sometimes results in loss of stand. Tall fescue is the poorest choice of all the grasses to grow with trefoil. Not only is fescue extremely competitive with trefoil, but fescue palatability is extremely low during the summer months, and animals will overgraze the trefoil allowing the ungrazed fescue to soon smother out the grazed off trefoil. Occasionally a trefoil stand should be allowed to set seed and shatter to ensure a source of hard seed in the soil when most of the pods have matured and turned to brown or black color, then grazing may be resumed. 5 Guide White, Ladino and Sweet. White clover is a stoloniferous plant with a shallow root system. The primary stems of white clover usually die before the second year, and the life of the plant depends upon the stolons and their haphazard roots. The white clovers, Trifolium repens L, of the United States can be classified in three general groups--small, intermediate and large. The small white clover is probably native to an area and often is referred to as wild white clover. Most of the white clovers sold in this country as common white clover belong to the intermediate group. Dutch white clover, which is a strain of the species, belongs to this group, as does Louisiana Sl. The varieties Pilgrim, Merit, Regal and Tillman belong to the large group and often are referred to as ladino clovers. Ladino has at different times been designated as a variety (in Italy), as an ecotype of white clover and as a completely different kind of clover. Evidently most of the large white clovers now used in this country derived from the "Ladino Gigante Lodigiano" of Italy, or the original ladino variety. Except for their differences in size, all of these groups of clovers are difficult to tell apart. Buying certified seed is the only way to prevent contamination with wild white clover. 6 A Guide to the Common Forages and Weeds of Pastures, M169. 7Cornell University Forage Recommendations Alsike clover persists on poorly drained sites and was commonly included in mixes for wet soils. Alsike will normally yield less than birdsfoot trefoil or several grasses. Individual alsike plants rarely persist beyond a year or two, although self-reseeding may maintain a partial stand. Alsike makes good feed for cows but not for horses. Horses will not graze alsike unless they have nothing else to eat. Horses forced to eat alsike may suffer a photochemical reaction that can cause hair loss and, in rare cases, liver damage and death. 8 Grazing management as well as weather factors will influence the amount of ladino in a pasture. Increased intensity of grazing usually increases the proportion of ladino to grass, while less frequent or longer intervals between defoliation tend to increase the proportion of grass in the mixture.

12 Survey results of forage management practices used in 2005 from various cattle producers in Northwest Missouri. 1. In 2005, please estimate the percent of your pasture acres in which you used legumes in place of nitrogen fertilizer (excluding the nitrogen contained in your phosphate fertilizer)? 42% of pasture acres used legumes instead of nitrogen fertilizer 2. What month did you overseed legumes? 22% indicated February 33% indicated February/March 27% indicated March 11% indicated April 7% indicated September 3. What legume did you use for overseeding? 72% indicated red clover 9% indicated alfalfa 19% indicated one of the following: white, ladino, alsike clover and birdsfoot trefoil 4. In 2005, please estimate the percent of pasture acres you applied nitrogen fertilizer to (excluding the nitrogen contained in your phosphate fertilizer)? 32% of the pasture acres had nitrogen fertilizer applied 5. In 2005, how many pounds of nitrogen did you typically apply at the time of overseeding legumes? 66% indicated 0 pounds of nitrogen was applied 44% indicated that 30 or more pounds of nitrogen fertilizer was applied 6. In 2005, what was your typical nitrogen application rate that you applied to your grass pasture acres? 34% indicated 0 33% indicated 30 to 50 33% indicated greater than In 2005, please indicate when you applied your pasture nitrogen fertilizer. 75% indicated March-April 10% indicated May-June 15% indicated Aug-Sept 8. In 2005, what percent of your planted small grains were used for grazing? 18% of small grains were used for grazing 9. In 2005, what percent of small grain acres were overseeded with legumes? 25% of small grains were over-seeded with legumes 10. In 2005, what percent of your row crop acres did you turn cattle into to winter graze crop residues? 45% of row crop acres were used for winter grazing