Effect of Planting Date on Distribution of Seasonal Forage Yields in Dual‐Purpose Wheat, Oats, and Ryegrass Crops

Abstract

Planting date is a key factor for determining the forage yields in different seasons to meet grazing requirements for various winter annual crops. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of planting date on seasonal forage yield distribution for different grazing systems in dual-purpose winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), oats (Avena sativa L.), and ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.). The research was conducted in two consecutive growing seasons (2003-2004 and 2004-2005) at the Texas A&M University Agriculture Research and Extension Center, McGregor, TX. Treatments were six planting dates (September through November with 2-week interval between consecutive planting dates) for all three crops designed in randomized complete block with three replications. Three harvests of forage (fall, winter, and spring) were conducted each year for all three winter annuals. The results indicated that early planting (early September) favored the higher forage yields in fall season for both years in all three crops. For all three crops, under below-average precipitation (2003)(2004), planting date had no significant effect (P < 0.05) on both winter and spring forage yields. In the year 2004-2005, with above-normal precipitation, late-mid planting (late October) was optimum for both winter and spring seasons in wheat and oats. For ryegrass, late-early (late September) planting produced significantly greater yields in fall and spring seasons. Planting date had no significant effect on winter forage yields for ryegrass. These research findings may be utilized in making planting decisions for the farmers with different grazing requirements in south and central Texas.

Relay Intercropping with Cover Crops Improved Autumn Forage Potential of Sweet Maize Stover

“…Between-year and between-site variability in the benefits of intercropping have been attributed to environmental conditions, with greater benefits observed in semiarid environments [14]. At 2 Mg DM ha −1 , aboveground biomass yield of oat sown in late summer and harvested in the autumn in this study (Table 2) was somewhat less than that reported by others for late summer sown oat [19,20,29]. The mid-summer-sown oat in the present study was headed when harvested.…”

“…As with the brassicas evaluated by others [16,17], earlier planting increased autumn forage yield of winter cereals compared to later planting [20].…”

“…Winter cereal forages also are used widely in the irrigated western USA and other semiarid regions of the world for supplemental autumn and winter forage and are especially beneficial to provide pasture high in nutritive value for recently weaned calves [19,20]. As with the brassicas evaluated by others [16,17], earlier planting increased autumn forage yield of winter cereals compared to later planting [20].…”

Impact of Planting Date and Seeding Rate on Forage and Grain Yields of Dual‐Purpose Wheat in Central Texas

“…1). Delaying planting until late November (PD6) reduced the forage production compared with earlier planting dates, consistent with Lyon et al (2001) and Darapuneni et al (2016), where forage yields were reduced for the winter and early‐spring harvest as planting date was delayed. Moreover, late planting may also result in poor root growth (Winter and Musick, 1993).…”

“…Although these stress factors are predominant for wheat planted in late summer or early fall, these earlier planting dates do allow for wheat plants to produce more fall and winter forage to be consumed by grazing animals. A study conducted in central Texas reported that planting dual‐purpose wheat in early September maximized the fall forage production; in contrast, the winter and spring forage yields were maximized by planting between late October and early November (Darapuneni et al, 2016). Beyond early November, there was a consistent decrease in forage yield.…”