Forage Fax

Carolina Horsenettle (Solanum carolinense) A warm season perennial, Carolina horse nettle can grow to 2 feet tall. It has dark green leaves that are sharply lobed with a pointed tip. Carolina horse nettle has large spines on the stems and leaves. Each of its mostly oval leaves has several teeth or shallow lobes on both sides. Horse nettle has clusters of white to purple flowers and they bloom May to October. Horse nettle also produces a fruit that is about 1/2 inch in diameter; it is green with… Read More →

Nitrogen is an essential plant nutrient. Plants readily take up and use two forms of soil nitrogen, ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-). Other forms of nitrogen must be converted to one of these compounds before plants can utilize them directly for plant growth. Sources of Nitrogen: Plants such as legumes “make their own” nitrogen. A symbiotic (positive for both parties) relationship between a legume and rhizobium bacteria develops and the bacteria “fix” nitrogen out of the atmosphere and convert the nitrogen gas into forms that can be used… Read More →

Who Needs Limestone: Many Texas soils are acid soils; that is, the soil pH is less than 7.0. Soil acidity is caused by various environmental, climatic, and cultural factors. The most common of these factors are: Parent material from which the soil is derived. Leaching by rainfall or irrigation that removes basic elements such as calcium, magnesium, and sodium from the soil profile leaving acidic hydrogen, aluminum, and manganese. Cultural practices such as nitrogen fertilization, removal of harvested crops and associated basic elements, and soil erosion, which results… Read More →

Tuning up your sprayer can better prepare you for accurate and effective herbicide applications. Any sprayer, old or new will perform better if you check it over before heading into the field. The most common causes of inconsistent spray patterns are nozzle tips with different fan angles on the boom, uneven boom heights and clogged nozzles. Follow manufacturer recommendations to select nozzles for the best coverage. Make sure nozzles are clear of debris and residue. If a spray tip does clog, only use a soft bristled brush or… Read More →

Annual Ryegrass…a cool season annual forage often utilized by livestock producers for winter grazing. However, it’s often deemed an enemy of many a hay producer in East Texas. Volunteer annual ryegrass can be common in hay meadows. Winter rainfalls can promote seed germination and seeds can survive for multiple years in our soils. Later maturity of annual ryegrass can delay or prevent our warm season perennial forages (i.e. bermudagrass or bahiagrass) from breaking dormancy in April/May therefore delaying our initial hay cutting.   So how do we manage… Read More →

Crabgrass is a warm-season annual grass that is commonly found in pastures and hay meadows in parts of Texas. Relative to other warm-season annual grasses, crabgrass has a low- to medium-yield potential but is high in forage quality. As such, it is often a desirable component in pastures and is sometimes planted for forage in pastures. As is the case with many annual grass species, crabgrass is a prolific seed producer which enables new stands to establish in subsequent growing seasons for summer grazing. Due to its high-volume… Read More →

Dallisgrass is a warm-season perennial that has grazing potential. Dallisgrass is palatable and has a higher level of nutritive value than bahiagrass and some bermudagrass varieties, and it can retain its nutritive value later into the summer. Dallisgrass, however, produces a lower dry matter yield than some bermudagrass varieties. One concern with dallisgrass is the potential for an “ergot” fungus (Claviceps spp.) to infect seedheads and cause dallisgrass poisoning (also known as dallisgrass staggers). The fungus infects the seedheads typically in late summer or fall. The affected animals… Read More →

Ty Bowman, a graduate student at Texas State, has developed a survey for Texas farmers and ranchers to assess producer views on using biosolid products for fertility. He is conducting a trial titled “Evaluating the feasibility and acceptance of using pelleted biosolids as an alternative fertilizer for Bahia grass”. Literature on the acceptance of biosolids as fertilizer, especially for small and mid-sized agricultural producers, is lacking. The findings from this survey will help assess the viability of biosolids as an alternative fertilizer. They will help to identify any… Read More →

Soil Test!  Soil Test!  Soil Test!  If you have not done so for this year, please consider obtaining a soil test now.  There is not much that can be done regarding the high cost of fertilizer, but there is much we can do regarding how efficiently we use fertilizer.  The soil test is the first step in efficient fertilizer use and improved forage production.  Samples should be collected annually for hay meadows and every 2 to 3 years for grazing pastures.  For soil forms and bags contact your… Read More →

What is TCSI? The Texas Climate Smart Initiative (TCSI) is a 3-4 year program that allows producers to engage in climate-smart practices to improve the efficiency of their agricultural production systems. We are looking for farmers, ranchers, and small forest owners in Texas to participate in this project. Whether it’s trees, row crops, grazing land, hay pasture, etc., you could benefit from joining this program and we would love to have you! What are the benefits? There are many great benefits to joining the TCSI. First, if you… Read More →