CORN Newsletter: 2008-28, August 25, 2008

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C.O.R.N Newsletter 2008-28
August 25, 2008 - September 2, 2008

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Late Season Emergency Annual Forages
by Mark Sulc


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Annual forages can still be planted in late August to early September to provide additional forage by early winter, assuming adequate rainfall is received. The best options for planting now are small grains and annual ryegrass.

Seedings should be made as soon as possible, to be completed no later than the first week September in northern Ohio and by Sept 10 to 15 in southern Ohio. Rainfall patterns will obviously have a big affect the success of late season forage plantings.

Forages planted this late in the season are best suited for utilization by grazing animals rather than mechanically harvested and stored. The lower yields from planting this late make mechanical harvesting questionable from an economic cost perspective, and poor drying conditions late in the year make the practical feasibility of mechanical harvesting questionable as well.

Oats seeded at 70 to 90 lbs per acre this late in the season have the potential to produce from 0.75 to 1.5 tons of forage dry matter per acre. Forage quality will be extremely high with late plantings (low NDF content and crude protein near 30%). Oats can be seeded no-till or into tilled seedbeds following wheat or corn silage harvest. No-till seeding is preferable for preserving precious soil moisture and to provide firm footing for grazing animals.

Oats can also be no-till seeded into existing perennial pastures that have been grazed short. This practice seems to work best when soil moisture is adequate for oat seed germination and oat growth, but not abundant enough for stimulating strong pasture regrowth. This may be the case this year, because we have dry soil conditions in many areas of the state. So we would need just enough rain to get the oats growing. The oats can add up to an extra ton of forage dry matter per acre in this manner.

Spring triticale can also produce well in the autumn like oats, but seed cost is much higher than for oats. Winter rye will produce limited forage this autumn and winter triticale will produce little to no forage this autumn, but both will produce significant forage early next spring. Winter wheat is not an option for autumn forage because of the need to delay planting until after the Hessian fly safe date. Mixtures of oats (60 to 70 lbs/acre) with a winter cereal (80 to 90 lbs/acre) such as winter rye, winter wheat, or winter triticale can provide both autumn and spring forage. The oat produces most of the autumn forage, and the winter cereal will produce the early spring forage.

Annual/Italian ryegrass is an option for planting by early to mid September. Italian ryegrass will most likely produce less forage than oats this autumn. However, a few Italian ryegrass varieties have the potential to survive our winters and produce additional forage next spring. Refer to the Ohio Forage Performance Trials for selecting annual ryegrass varieties (http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/forage2006/default.asp).

Annual/Italian ryegrass should be planted at 20 to 25 lbs seed/acre. Annual/Italian ryegrass planted in early September in Western Ohio has produced 0.3 to 1.0 ton of forage dry matter per acre by November to early December, and some varieties have yielded 3 to 6 tons of dry matter per acre the following year with N fertilization.

A word of caution with using annual/Italian ryegrass – it may not be the best option if a grain crop will be planted early next spring. Annual/Italian ryegrass can be hard to kill in early spring and it can become a weed in wheat.

Nitrogen applications are often needed for good production of these annual grass forages. Applying 100 lbs urea/acre is usually a good practice, except where there is reason to suspect significant levels of residual N are left in the soil. This may the case following corn silage this year, due to the dry summer conditions and if high nitrogen applications were made to the corn. If nitrogen carryover is suspected, do not apply additional N to these crops. Oats and annual ryegrass are good N scavengers, and excess N in the soil can result in accumulation of toxic levels of nitrates in the forage.

Corn and corn stover. Finally, don’t forget the opportunity to utilize residue from one of Ohio’s most important annual grasses, corn. One acre of corn stover can meet the nutritional needs of one mature beef cow for about a month. For more information, refer to the factsheet ANR-10-02 “Grazing Corn Residue”, available at OSU Extension offices and online at http://ohioline.osu.edu/anr-fact/0010.html. Standing corn can also be grazed directly by cattle (strip grazing only) and sheep with good results.

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C.O.R.N. is a summary of crop observations, related information, and appropriate recommendations for Ohio Crop Producers and Industry. C.O.R.N. is produced by the Ohio State University Extension Agronomy Team, State Specialists at The Ohio State University and Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. C.O.R.N. Questions are directed to State Specialists, Extension Associates, and Agents associated with Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center at The Ohio State University.

Information presented above and where trade names are used, they are supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Ohio State University Extension is implied. Although every attempt is made to produce information that is complete, timely, and accurate, the pesticide user bears responsibility of consulting the pesticide label and adhering to those directions.

All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Keith L. Smith, Director, Ohio State University Extension.

TDD # 1 (800) 589-8292 (Ohio only) or (614) 292-1868


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