I am trying to establish a small plot (approx. 1 acre) of eastern gamagrass. Unfortunately, one area I have chosen is in Tifton 85. I want to know how I can get rid of or suppress the tifton enough to start a stand of eastern gama from seed (plant in Nov). Note: the cultivar I will be planting has a much higher germination rate than several of the cultivars released by NRCS for Texas.

The only method I have heard is to put out 2 quarts of Roundup per acre (delute with how much water??). I know you are reading this and going "What are you thinking!!!". Well I may change my thinking once I get all the info and related costs, but I have good reasons for looking at the spot with tifton.

A second location I want to put into E. gama (plant seed in Nov) is now in bahia. What options do I have for controling bahia to get a stand of E. grama?

Thank you so much for your input.

To destroy the Tifton 85, allow for adequate growth (12-15") and apply 5 quarts of Roundup per acre. Your question regarding how to dilute the Roundup leads me to believe you do not know how to calibrate a sprayer; thus you should go to my web site (http://forages.tamu.edu) and click on "Weed Control" and then "Sprayer Calibration" to learn how to properly calibrate your sprayer. Allow at least two weeks for a proper kill before disturbing the site.

For bahiagrass control, allow the forage to accumulate 8-10" of growth and apply 0.3 (3/10) of an ounce per acre of Cimarron. Applying this little herbicide makes proper sprayer calibration critical. Allow 4-6 weeks for adequate control. This means you need to have the forage at the proper height now in order to apply the herbicide in time for a November planting of the eastern gamagrass.

Larry

Dr. Redmon, thank you so much for your reply. And you are correct. I do not know how to calibrate a sprayer. My forte, knowledge and skill lie elsewhere. My father, brother and even now my husband are leary of me getting too close to equipment, always muttering something about repair bills. But, I have been reading up since I posted this message.

Thank you again.
Regards,
Kris

Dr. Redmond,

Long time no see! Fancy meeting you here. Remember me? I was the inquisitive NY attendee at one of your Livestock Management courses this past April.

Guess what? I am in contract for a 185 acre ranch in Robertson County, near Franklin. Right now a lot of this land is in Bermuda grass hay production, but I am extremely interested in this gamma grass. I saw some months ago where you posted something about its potential, but I'll be darned, if I can find it now.

If all goes well, this place will close by mid-October. You think that gives me enough time to get some seed planted, being that I will have to get a soil fertility test done, etc.?

I hear there is a place up in Oklahoma to get some good seed.

I would also like to know how it fits into overall pasture management.

I was going to email you anyway, after the place closed, but after reading what your responded to Kris, I better think about this before closing, so I can commence preparing to plant the grass, as soon as it closes, if you think I could get it in by November.

Regards,
Sherry Alongi
Your former student currently residing in New York

Kris,

I would be interested in knowing what cultivar you intend to use and where did you obtain it, if you don't mind my asking.

Sherry Alongi

Sherry:
I am planting Texas Sue eastern gama grass. It was developed by Charles Lancaster from Lampassass. You can find them on the web. If you don't, let me know and I will dig up their info.

I chose this cultivar because it has a much higher germination rate than the Texas varieties developed by NRCS Plant Materials and shows more vigor than "Pete" which is a northern variety that you will see in OK and TX. I have seen several cultivars in production in the past 3 years and agree with Larry that it has promise in several situations.

We have a place in Robertson CO as well as Brazos. Good Luck with your deal.

There is a couple of things you may want to consider before turning all 160ac into Eastern gama. This is a bunchgrass that will develop a sizable crown or base.

The Cons: Being a bunchgrass, it can't be continuously grazed or the stand will regress out of existance. If you let it get too mature, cattle won't eat it as well. It's expensive to establish, more so than bermuda. Haying this grass can be hard on equipment. It needs the type of hay cutter that will take down sorghum. There is not a good local market for such hay around here because people are not familiar with gama. So your revenue from it is limited to cattle. This is a grass that requires a lot of management.

The Pros: Eastern gama is high quality. Production is very high. It sends a tap root that allows it to remain vegetative when other grasses are going dormant in the summer droughts. The test results I've seen from clippings in Dec and Jan, show that E. gama retains good quality as standing "hay" during the winter. But this has only limited use because you do not want to graze it down any shorter than 6-8 inches tall. This is where the plant stores it's energy for new growth.

Suggestions: This grass would do well in a rotation that has some other paddocks of other grasses. Allow E. gama to grow to about 18-24 inches tall and then graze it down to about a foot.

I plan to use it to "creep feed" calves (with the help of an electrical fence and adjustable gate) and as deferred grazing for July and August when other forage is droughty and calf growth is going stale. Flash grazing with the entire cow herd can be used to keep it from getting too mature in these situations.

Most of what I mention here, I found online or from talking to NRCS guys, Extension, and growers over the last 4 years.

Good Luck
Kris

Sherry:

Try to plant in Nov. You need a prepared seed bed. A corn planter works well. They recommend not broadcasting it. If not in Nov, you need to get it in before Feb because it will start growing in March. This is one reason you have to be careful if you want plant cool season annuals with it. It will be competing with ryegrass and clover who's high volume months are March and April.

Kris

Hi,

I live in wyoming on the eastern border and just south of the blask hills. I would like to know if gamagrass would work in this area. I have a area that is flood irigated and holds this water on it for a long time. The soil is alkali and is a heavy clay.
We are into rotational grassing and run horses.

Howdy!

Thank you for your interest in the Center. We are located in Texas. We provide feedback that pertains to Texas only, as that is what we are most familiar with.

I have provided the link to the Cooperative Extension Service there at the University of Wyoming.

http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/UWces/

Craig-

Did you have any luck on the gama grass in WY? I live in SE MT and am going to try about 7 acres (irrigated)this spring. It appears that there has been very little or no research done on it's growth up here in the northern states. So I figured I'd be the guinea pig. Let me know if you hear of any positives or negatives.

Chad Collins

Noelle Chmielewski. Sorry, I just read the text of your message to Craig. My apologies.

I am looking for the least cost point of diminishing return for N response on easter sue. With Fert. prices what they are today I can't afford to overdue it. If anybody knows of any research on this I would be gratefull to read it.

Which variety of seeded bermuda grass would you recommend for cattle grazing in East Texas, Gregg Co.

Andy
The only variety that can be propogated by seed is common bermuda grass. It is the only variety that will produce a lasting stand. it yeilds very little in comparison to other varieties propagated by spriggs or tops. It will establish quickly but does not respond well to nitrogen and can only be utilized @ 50%. If practical, try planting another variety like jiggs or tifton 85 which cannot be planted by seed. I hope this helps.
Daniel Grant

ive been studying this eastern gama grass for about a 6 months now. watching it grow along side theses other grasses, what ive noticed is with the same drought situations the texas eastern gama grass has out grew out lasted anything around it. even with the drought this patch im talking about made 6 or 7 bales to the acre(big bales)plus they left the stand 10" tall thats enough to win me over. my dad and i are planting 10 acres this winter.