Which variety(s) will transition from vegetative reproductive growth first? How long will my winter annual compete with my warm-season perennial? These are important factors to consider when overseeding a warm-season perennial pasture such as bermudagrass or bahiagrass. In an effort to generate answers, a new official variety trial (OVT) was added for the 2023-2024 season.
The Tennessee Valley Research and Extension Center located at Belle Mina (North AL) agreed to accommodate a forage variety trial with 51 varieties of ryegrass, 15 of oat, 4 of wheat, 4 of rye, and 2 of triticale.
How did we measure maturity? The same way that we would for our winter grains. As the forages transitioned from vegetative growth to seed production, the “head date” was recorded. The head date is when 50% of the plants have a seed head emerged from the boot. Head dates and days to heading values can vary depending on the season, planting date, and location. However, the order of entries is not expected to change dramatically.
What did we already know? The number of days from planting to the first harvest is highly correlated with latitude. Winter forages grown in South AL can be grazed much faster than forages in North AL. The same correlation is suspected when looking at maturity. Therefore, maturity may have a more drastic impact as you travel north.
What did we learn? Ryegrass maturity was highly dependent on variety. Across 51 varieties, there was a 22-day spread. So, if you are concerned about annual ryegrass negatively affecting warm-season greenup, consider choosing a high-yielding earlier maturing variety.
Within each species of small grains (rye excluded) statistical differences were detected by variety. However, the range for each species was just a few days. Is a week or less enough to cause concern? Could this be due to the limited number of varieties? We will need additional data to tell.
For the small grains, the largest differences in maturity were noted by species. Rye was the earliest, followed by wheat and triticale. Oats were the last of the small grains to mature. A few of the earliest ryegrass varieties and the oats even had some overlap.
Check out the results below!
North Region Maturity Summary, 2023-2024
The links below are for the North Region Maturity Summary. Maturity data is from the Tennessee Valley Research and Extension Center (TVREC) in Belle Mina. Yield data is from the Sand Mountain Research and Extension Center (SMREC) in Crossville.
Ryegrass
Oats
Wheat
Triticale
Rye
Performance of Small Grain Forages in Alabama, 2023-2024