Forage Fax

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 →

After a cold, dreary winter we get anxious about our warm season perennial pastures and hay meadows. We start panicking about the winter weeds we see growing, the volunteer ryegrass we see growing and we start making calls to our local fertilizer retailer. Find more information about dealing with volunteer ryegrass here and dealing with winter weeds here. Now, let’s take a moment and talk about the RIGHT time to fertilize our warm season pastures/hay meadows.   First and foremost, soil test. If you have not done so… Read More →

Mayweed chamomile, often called dog fennel, stinking chamomile, or stinking mayweed is an annual bushy broadleaf plant that germinates in early spring. Mayweed chamomile inhabits crop fields, roadsides, pastures, hay meadows and other disturbed, unmanaged sites. Leaves are alternate to one another along the stem, are lobed to deeply divided, and nearly hairless to hairy. Mayweed chamomile can have a spreading form or be an erect plant, reaching 6 inches to 3 feet long. A distinguishing characteristic of mayweed is it’s unpleasant odor. Flowering takes place from spring… Read More →

Friday, April 5, 2024 Hosted by Dr. Vanessa Corriher-Olson and Dr. Jason Banta Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center 1710 N. Hwy 3053, Overton, TX 75684 Virtual (Zoom)   Pest Control in the Pasture Pesticide Modes of Action Drift Management and Drone Use in Agriculture External Parasite Control Weed Control in Pastures and Hay Meadows   Program starts 8:30 am Adjourn 3:00 pm   5 Pesticide CEUs Available  FLYER Registration: Cost: $35/ person Registration Deadline: Thursday April 4, 2024 @ 11 am Register online at: https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/ereg/index.php?eventid=786170&;  … Read More →

Most people think these forages are a species of their own. But they are not. They are hybrid varieties of Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon). Bermudagrass is a warm-season perennial grass that spreads mainly by rhizomes (underground stems) and stolons (horizontal aboveground stems).  The grass tolerates a wide range of soil types and soil pH values, thus making it adapted to most of the southern US.  ‘Coastal’: A hybrid between ‘Tift’ bermudagrass, a vigorous growing bermudagrass found in an old field near Tifton, Georgia, and an introduction from South Africa. … Read More →

The bermudagrass stem maggot (Atherigona reversura), a pest of bermudagrass forage in Texas has been reported annually since 2012. The fly (yellow with black head) lays its eggs within the stem of the bermudagrass plant. Once the egg hatches the larva, or maggot, (white with black head, 1/8” – 3/16” long) moves to the last plant node and consumes the plant material within the stem. This stem damage results in the death of the top two to three leaves while the rest of the plant remains green. This… Read More →

Wild Carrot (Daucus carota): Wild Carrot, also known as queen anne’s lace, is a biennial broadleaf plant. Wild carrot forms a rosette of leaves the first year, then flowers, produces seed, and dies the second year. It forms a deep, whitish taproot that has a distinctive carrot odor. Mature plants reach 2 to 4 feet tall and have erect stems and few branches. Leaves divide several times, forming many long, narrow segments. Leaves on the lower part of the plant have stalks. Those on the upper part of… Read More →

After mowing, poor weather and handling conditions can lower hay quality. Rain can cause leaf loss and can leach nutrients from plants during curing. Rain can leach out nutrients and increase dry matter loss from respiration, which is the process by which a plant uses oxygen. Nutrient losses depend on the amount, duration and timing of the rain in relation to cutting time. Purdue University has conducted research on the amount of total digestible nutrients (TDN) and field dry matter lost from hay after a rain. The study… Read More →

Horseweed (Conyza canadensis): Often times called: mare’s tail. Warm season erect annual weed. Often found in cultivated areas, pastures, road sides and waste sites. First leaves are in a rosette. Stem with frequent alternate and sessile leaves. Horseweed generally bolts in April/May, flowers in July and sets and disperse seed from August to October. Control of horseweed is more effective when plants are in the rosette stage or less than 2 inches tall.             Select Herbicide Options: Weedmaster 2, 4-D GrazonNext HL Duracor… Read More →

Blackberry and dewberry are closely related, but they are very different in growth habits and physical characteristics. Dewberry exhibits a low, vine-like, trailing growth habit that forms mats that are rarely taller than 2 feet above the ground. Blackberry typically has an upright rambling growth habit, which can form impenetrable thickets that are often 4 to 6 feet tall. Stems of dewberry have slender thorns and numerous red hairs, while upright blackberry stems have few to no hairs and numerous hard, broad-based thorns. Dewberry also tend to flower about… Read More →