USDA/NRCS Forage & Biomass Std. 512 for Bioenergy & Sustainable Ag. Conf.

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1 USDA/NRCS Forage & Biomass Std. 512 for Bioenergy & Sustainable Ag. Conf. Roger Staff Grassland/Grazing Sp. USDA/NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service

2 NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE CONSERVATION PRACTICE STANDARD FORAGE AND BIOMASS PLANTING (Acre) CODE 512 DEFINITION Establishing adapted and/or compatible species, varieties, or cultivars of herbaceous species suitable for pasture, hay, or biomass production. PURPOSES Improve or maintain livestock nutrition and/or health. Provide or increase forage supply during periods of low forage production. Reduce soil erosion. Improve soil and water quality. Produce feedstock for biofuel or energy production

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5 Forage and Biomass std. 512 seeding chart

6 How Many Seeds are NEEDED per Square Foot? Jim Gerrish suggests seeds per square foot CSG/Legumes Many seed companies recommend square inches in 1 square foot. Lots of seed? Native Perennial Warm Season Grasses seeds per square foot In some CSG mixtures are we mulching the ground with seed?

7 Purchase Quality Seed Germination tests within 12 months of seeding Minimum germination Bromegrass 70% Other Cool Seasons 80% Switchgrass 75% Indiangrass 60% Big Bluestem 60% Eastern Gamagrass 50%

8 Big Bluestem Seed Tag Purity= X 94.0 (germination 87 + Dormant/Hard 7.0) = /100=70.43% = Pure Live seed (PLS) Inert and other crop are both trash or waste materials! The Germination test date should be less than 12 months ahead of the seeding date!

9 Calculate Pure Live Seed How much seed to plant?: Seeding rate of each species divided by % Pure Live Seed Example: PLS = (87% germ + 7% hard seed) 94.0 X 74.93% purity PLS = 7043/100 PLS = 70.43% Need 10 pls lbs/ac = 10/70.43 = X 100 = lbs/ac bulk seed

10 Seed tag from a Native Grass Specialty Mixture Note the Multitude of species: What is your goal for the species mixture to accomplish? Varity not stated, VNS? Financial Assistance programs Seeding rates must meet minimum # amounts! Purity X Germination (GRM) +Firm (FRM) =PLS (per species)

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12 Calculate Pure Live Seed Pure Seed (Purity) Purity alone doesn t tell much, but with Germination: Low purity with high germ or low germ could be a by product of the cleaning process High purity with low germ could be a result of old seed The seed may be ok to plant, but more bulk seed is required.

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14 NR = Not Recommended For more info on warm season grasses used for biomass refer to Table 3 and Technical Note No. 3 Planning and Managing Switchgrass as a Biomass Energy Crop, which along with other info can be found at: materials.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/biofuel.html

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16 Grass Growth Characteristics & Management Jointed grasses Timothy, Smooth Brome-grass, Switch-grass Non-Jointed grasses Orchard-grass, Tall Fescue, KY Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass, E. Gama-grass, Big Bluestem, Indian-grass Legumes should be added to both grass types Lespedezas or Forbs to Warm Season Grasses Alfalfa, clovers, birds-foot trefoil, Lespedezas to Cool Season Grasses

17 Important Forage Grass Classification Cool Season (C3 Photosynthetic pathway) Kentucky Bluegrass Smooth Bromegrass Orchardgrass Tall fescue Timothy Ryegrass Warm Season (C4 photosynthetic pathways) E. Gama grass Switchgrass Big Bluestem Indian grass Crabgrass Little bluestem Side Oats Grama

18 Warm Season Grasses Native (C4) E. Gama grass Switchgrass Side Oats Grama Big Bluestem Indian grass Little Blue Stem Introduced (C4) Bermuda grass Caucasian Blue Stem Crabgrass Pearl Millet Forage Sorghum Sorghum Sudangrass Johnson grass

19 Native & Introduced WSG Native WSG Provide wildlife habitat Well adapted Require longer rest periods + height Require moderate levels of N More cost-share opportunities Less sensitive to climate Deeper rooted Comparison Introduced WSG Provide good late summer forage Higher stocking rates Require shorter rest periods & height Require high levels of N to meet yield goals & moisture May invade native grasslands? More sensitive to climate

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21 Table 6 also includes canned seeding rates for: Hay Crops, Pasture for Horses, Pasture for Hogs/Swine, and Supplemental Pastures.

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23 Forage Temperature Preferences Forage Types Cool Season Grass Legumes Warm Season Grass Optimum Growing Temperatures (F)

24 Yield Distribution: Legumes Yield (tons/a) Cool-season Grass Red & White Clover Annual Lespedeza Annual Lespedeza Cool Season Grasses Red & White Clovers 0.0 Spring Summer Fall

25 Yield Distribution: growing season 1.5 Tall Fescue Big bluestem/indiangrass Eastern gama/switchgrass Yield (tons/a) Spring Summer Fall

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28 Water Use by Plants From 300# to over 1000# of water is used to produce 1# of Dry Matter forage. Water use efficiency differs among forage species. C4 species (WSG) are generally about twice as efficient as C3 plants in dry matter production per unit of water. Impressive since the C4 species growth is during high temp. and high evapotranspiration rates compared to C3 species, except for Lespedezas. There are differences between C4 species as well. Southern Forages third ed.

29 Kentucky Bluegrass 15 foot

30 Legume Inoculation Use correct inoculant for your legume Alfalfa group Rhizobium meliloti Clover group Rhizobium trifolii Cowpea group Bradyrhizobium japonicum spp. Lupine group Rhizobium lupini Pea & vetch group Rhizobium leguminosarum Other soybean, BFT, Kura clover - various Put bacteria in contact with roots Use sticking agents on seed Be sure inoculant bacteria are alive Expiration date, storage conditions, package integrity

31 Impact of Legume-Grass Mixture vs. Grass-Nitrogen Treatment Fescue + N: 0 lb./ac 90lb./ac($ lb./ac($ Yield, lbs. DM/acre 3,900 6,700 9,900 Fescue + Red 6 lb. seed/ac ($12) 11,100 (2 nd year after adding red clover) Univ. of Kentucky 2 yr. ave., 1978

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