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Overseeding Cool-Season Annual Forages in Coastal Bermudagrass Pastures on Dairies in Central Texas to Recycle Phosphorus John R. Bow & James P. Muir Stephenville. OBJECTIVES Recycle soil-P via a winter forage crop
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Overseeding Cool-Season Annual Forages in Coastal Bermudagrass Pastures on Dairies in Central Texas to Recycle Phosphorus John R. Bow & James P. Muir Stephenville • OBJECTIVES • Recycle soil-P via a winter forage crop • Provide high quality winter/spring green chop INTRODUCTION Dairies in north-central Texas containing high-phosphorus soils resulting from the application of waste water and manure can recycle nutrients by over-seeding Coastal (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) bermudagrass fields with cool-season annual forages. Ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), rye (Secale cereale L.), triticale (Triticum secale L.), oats (Avena sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth), burr medic (Medicago polymorpha L.), arrowleaf clover (Trifolium vesiculosum Savi.), rose clover (Trifolium hirtum All.), crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), turnips and rape (Brassica spp.) were evaluated for winter forage yields. RESULTS Dry matter and P yields were affected by year x species interactions (P < 0.0001). Cool-season grasses were the most productive in DM yield and P extraction in years 1 and 3 (28 to 41 kg P ha-1). Year 2 DM yields were negligible in the Coastal pastures due to insufficient rainfall. Hairy vetch was the most productive legume, resulting in up to 13 kg P ha-1 extracted year-1. MATERIALS & METHODS Species were no-till seeded into 1.5 X 5 m plots in early fall of 2004, 2005 and 2006. Cool-season grass and brassica plots received 56 kg ha-1 nitrogen in mid winter. Species were individually harvested in the spring when the cool-season grasses were in boot stage and the forbs flowered. Soil analysis showed a pH 8.4, and 188 ppm P, 35 N, 717 K. Table 1. Cool-Season Species no-till drilled into Coastal Bermudagrass Rose clover Arrowleaf clover Crimson clover • CONCLUSIONS • Overseeding cool-season forages on dormant bermudagrass can extract up to 41 kg ha-1 P in growing seasons that have sufficient rainfall. • Over-seeding is poor investment in dry years. Hairy Vetch Burr medic e • Funding provided in part by: • Texas AgriLife Research • Texas State Soil & Water Conservation Board • National Integrated Water Quality Program, AFRI