f ama, 1991-92 Lyl 4A 4 v0 0 Cl W 0-.* Department of Agronomy and Soils Departmental Series 162 Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station Auburn University Lowell T. Frobish, Director Auburn University, Alabama August 1992 PERFORMANCE OF RYEGRASS VARIETIES IN ALABAMA, 1991-92 D.L. Thurlow, W.C. Johnson, and K.M. Glassi The Alabama Ryegrass Variety Evaluation is a continuing study of available varieties and breeding lines from private companies and state agricultural experiment stations. Experiments are planted annually in northern, central, and southern locations to evaluate the varieties and lines under the different environmental conditions of Alabama. The experiments are conducted by Experiment Station personnel and the results are presented in a fair and unbiased manner. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES AND DISCUSSION Ryegrass entries were seeded at a 20-pound-per-acre rate in rows 7 inches apart, using plots 5 x 20 feet with four replications. Good stands were obtained-at the following locations: Sand Mountain Substation, Crossville; E.V. Smith Research Center, Tallassee; and Gulf Coast Substation, Fairhope. The experiments were fertilized with phosphorus and potassium according to Auburn University soil test recommendations. At planting, nitrogen was applied at the rate of 50 pounds per acre, and an additional 50 pounds of N was applied per acre after each cutting. A 32- or 49-inch swath of each plot was harvested to a cutting height of 1 1/2 to 2 inches with a flail harvester each time the ryegrass reached 6-10 inches tall. A herbage sample of approximately 1 pound was taken from each plot at each harvest for determining forage dry matter percentage. 1 Associate Professor, Professor, and Research Technician of Agronomy and Soil s. Due to dry soil conditions in fall of 1990, experiments at Fairhope and Tallassee were not planted until October 30 and 25, respectively. The experiment at Crossville was planted September 20, 1990. In 1989, the experiments were all planted by October 13. In 1991, the tests were planted on September 20, October 1, and October 10, at Crossville, Tallassee, and Fairhope, respectively. Above average temperatures recorded at all locations in 1991-92 resulted in good fall and winter growth. There was a severe shortage of moisture in late April and all of May resulting in very low late spring production. Strategies to meet seasonal forage needs are an important consideration for livestock producers. Tables 1-3 provide yield data by harvest for 1991-92 at a given location, while tables 4-6 show one-, two-, and three-year total yields by location. Dry matter forage is recorded for seasonal and total yields by locations in tables 7-9. The four seasonal periods are: autumn- forage produced through December; winter-January and February production; early spring-March and early April production; and late spring-production after April 20. A 3-year average provides a more dependable comparison of ryegrass varieties than do single-year results. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Appreciation is expressed to Mein-Huei Tzeng and to the late Mrs. Sally Bagwell, Research Data Analysis, for the data processing of this report. Also acknowledged are the contributions of J.T. Eason and M.E. Ruf, Sand Mountain Substation; E.L. Carden, N.R. McDaniel, and M.D. Pegues, Gulf Coast Substation; and S.P. Nightengale, E.V. Smith Research Center, for growing and harvesting the experiments. Information contained herein is available to all persons regardless of race, color, sex, or national origin. -4- SOURCES OF RYEGRASS SEED Florida 80 Gulf (Source A) Gulf (Source B) Gulf (Oregon State) Jackson Marshall Nutriblend Rio Rustmaster Surry TAM 90 Tetragrazer 4-4-2 TXR 86-2L WVPB-AR-90-1 WVPB-AR-90-300 University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Piedmont Fertilizer, Auburn, Alabama Silverhill Farmer's Ass'n., Robertsdale, Alabama Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon Delta and Pine Land Co., Scott, Mississippi Delta and Pine Land Co., Scott, Mississippi DLF Trifolium, Albany, Oregon Olsen-Fennell Seeds, Inc., Salem, Oregon DLF Trifolium, Albany, Oregon University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Texas A & M University, Overton, Texas Pennington Seed, Inc., Lebanon, Oregon Texas A & M University,* Overton, Texas Willamette Valley Plant Breeders, Inc. Brownsville, Oregon Willamette Valley Plant Breeders, Inc. Brownsville, Oregon -5- TABLE 1. SEASONAL DRY MATTER YIELD OF RYEGRASS VARIETIES AT SUBSTATION, FAIRHOPE, ALABAMA, 1992 GULF COAST ACRE YIELD BY HARVEST DATE SEASON BRAND-VARIETY 12/5 1/2 2/4 2/21 3/13 4/3 5/25 TOTAL LB. LL. LB. LB. LB. LB. MARSHALL 1,354 1,938 1,713 1,172 1,725 2,998 1,284 12,184 RIO 1,521 1,916 1,537 1,147 1,728 2,667 1,653 12,169 RUSTMASTER 1,468 1,809 1,666 1,108 1,588 2,963 1,427 12,029 JACKSON 1,403 1,853 1,685 1,068 1,578 2,557 1,732 11,876 TAM 90 1,380 1,868 1,687 1,057 1,566 2,804 1,439 11,801 SURRY 782 1,720 1,701 1,082 1,523 2,863 1,953 11,624 WVPB-AR-90-1 897 1,786 1,479 1,159 1,599 2,696 1,907 11,523 TETRAGRAZER 4-4-2 1,051 1,879 1,673 1,036 1,550 2,794 1,410 11,393 NUTRIBLEND 1,087 1,833 1,579 996 1,742 2,858 1,277 11,372 FLORIDA 80 1,428 1,602 1,522 989 1,443 2,810 1,560 11,354 GULF (SOURCE A) 1,248 2,026- 1,515 958 1,327 2,672 1,495 11,241 GULF (OREGON STATE) 1,254 1,944 1,553 991 1,307 2,496 1,291 10,836 TXR 86-2L 352 1,575 1,623 1,033 1,560 3,073 1,512 10,728 WVPB-AR-90-300 506 1,610 1,610 1,066 1,449 2,725 1,465 10,431 GULF (SOURCE B) 1,234 1,697 1,471 934 1,343 2,523 1,130 10,332 TEST MEAN 1,131 1,804 1,601 1,053 1,535 2,767 1,502 11,393 C.V. (%) 20 13 9 9 11 10 13 6 L.S.D. (.10) 262 282 177 108 192 331 230 827 PLANTED: OCTOBER 10, 1991. SOIL: MALBIS FINE SANDY LOAM. i SEASONAL DRY MATTER YIELD OF RYEGRASS VARIETIES AT E.V. SMITH RESEARCH CENTER, TALLASSEE, ALABAMA, 1992 . BAND-VARIETY 11/25 12/17 1/22 2/21. LL. LL. LB.O L HARVEST 2/13 LB. DATE Z9- L~L SEASON 5/26 TOTA LB.O B GULF (SOURCE A) TAM 90 MARSHALL JACKSON GULF (OREGON STATE) GULF (SOURCE B) FLORIDA 80 -t RUSTHASTER WVPB-'AR-90-1 TETRAGRAZER 4-4-2 SURRY WVPB-AR-90-3 00 TXR 86-2L NUTRIBLEND 1,202 1,204 1,472 1,162 1,092 1,011 1,138 1,065 923 1,081 635 581 306 1,048 781 623 692 602 682 663 599 566 502 567 555 517 436 556 533 456 427 412 499 547 374 .430 327 373 317 348 359 370 672 613 279 480 687 591 651 446 379 552 501 519 568 398 662 796 602 759 707 577 863 843 687 610 812 706 782 496 931 949 894 886 831, 829 758 925 927 839 879 878 943 706 869 899 1,207 1,045 915 1,018 913 992 1,155 894 994 953 951 695 468 531 454 619 472 556 457 461 549 421 575 520 619 374 6, 118 6,071 6, 027 5, 965 5, 885 5, 792 5, 753 5, 728 5,449 5, 337 5, 268 5, 022 4,964 4,643 TEST MEAN 994 596 412 524 707 870 964 C.V. () 15 12 23 16 15 14 13 19 L.S.D. (.10) 180 85 115 99 130 143 144 PLANTED: OCTOBER 1, 1991. SOIL: CAHABA FINE SANDY LOAM. TABLE 2.0 TABLE 3. SEASONAL DRY MATTER YIELD OF RYEGRASS VARIETIES MOUNTAIN SUBSTATION, CROSSVILLE, ALABAMA, 1992 ACRE YIELD BY HARVEST DATE SEASON BRAND-VARIETY 1/21 3/09 4/09 4/23 5/12 TOTAL LB. LB. LB. LB. LB LB. MARSHALL 971 839 1,937 1,108 709 5,564 TXR 86-2L 539 932 1,872 1,193 686 5,222 JACKSON 853 1,023 1,744 1,021 581 5,222 SURRY 528 967 1,595 1,223 780 5,093 RUSTMASTER 793 998 1,587 1,102 557 5,037 TAM 90 695 922 1,479 1,134 610 4,840 NUTRIBLEND 548 604 1,859 942 775 4,728 TETRAGRAZER 4-4-2 717 866 1,301 1,034 657 4,575 FLORIDA 80 811 986 1,172 950 614 4,533 GULF (SOURCE A) 926 885 1,118 908 514 4,351 GULF (OREGON STATE) 972 806 1,067 895 435 4,175 GULF (SOURCE B) 816 735 1,014 937 545 4,047 TEST MEAN 764 880 1,479 1,037 622 4,782 C.V. (%) 25 15 13 16 20 5 L.S.D. (.10) 227 163 238 197 150 313 PLANTED: SEPTEMBER 20, 1991. SOIL: HARTSELLS FINE SANDY LOAM. I cc AT SAND TABLE 4. TOTAL DRY MATTER YIELD OF RYEGRASS VARIETIES, 1992, AND TWO- AND THREE-YEAR AVERAGES, GULF COAST SUBSTATION, FAIRHOPE, ALABAMA DRY MATTER/ACRE BRAND-VARIETY 1992 2-YR. AV. 3-YR. AV. (1991-1992) (1990-1992) LB. LB. LB. RUSTMASTER 12,029 10,343 9,714 MARSHALL 12,184 10,084 9,693 JACKSON 11,876 10,213 9,518 NUTRIBLEND 11,372 9,788 9,299 SURRY 11,624 9,901 9,149 GULF (SOURCE B) 10,332 9,138 8,727 WVPB-AR-90-1 11,523 9,807 FLORIDA 80 11,354 9,579 - WVPB-AR-90-300 10,431 9,258 RIO 12,169 - - TAM 90 11,801 - - TETRAGRAZER 4-4-2 11,393 - - GULF (SOURCE A) 11,241 - - GULF (OREGON STATE) 10,836 - - TXR 86-2L 10,728 - - -9- TABLE 5. TOTAL DRY MATTER YIELD OF RYEGRASS VARIETIES, 1992, AND TWO- AND THREE-YEAR AVERAGES, E.V. SMITH RESEARCH CENTER, TALLASSEE, ALABAMA DRY MATTER/ACRE BRAND-VARIETY 1992 2-YR. AV. 3-YR. AV. (1991-1992) (1990-1992) LB. LB. LB. RUSTMASTER 5,728 6,162 7,035 MARSHALL 6,027 6,250 6,951 JACKSON 5,965 6,072 6,898 GULF (SOURCE B) 5,792 5,895 6,715 SURRY 5,268 5,780 6,529 NUTRIBLEND 4,643 5,611 6,380 WVPB-AR-90-300 5,022 5,909 FLORIDA 80 5,753 5,815 - WVPB-AR-90-1 5,449 5,800 - GULF (SOURCE A) 6,118 - - TAM 90 6,071 - - GULF (OREGON STATE) 5,885 - - TETRAGRAZER 4-4-2 5,337 - - TXR 86-2L 4,964 - - -10- TABLE 6. TOTAL DRY MATTER YIELD OF RYEGRASS VARIETIES, 1992, AND TWO- AND THREE-YEAR AVERAGES, SAND MOUNTAIN SUBSTATION, CROSSVILLE, ALABAMA DRY MATTER/ACRE BRAND-VARIETY 1992 2-YR. AV. 3-YR. AV. (1991-1992) (1990-1992) LB. LB. LB. MARSHALL 5,564 5,336 5,093 SURRY 5,093 5,235 4,872 JACKSON 5,222 5,016 4,705 RUSTMASTER 5,037 5,016 4,692 NUTRIBLEND 4,728 4,921 4,529 GULF (SOURCE B) 4,047 4,431 4,178 FLORIDA 80 4,533 4,769 - TXR 86-2L 5,222 - - TAM 90 4,840 - - TETRAGRAZER 4-4-2 4,575 - - GULF (SOURCE A) 4,351 - - GULF (OREGON STATE) 4,175 - - -11- TABLE 7. THREE-YEAR AVERAGE SEASONAL DISTRIBUTION OF RYEGRASS VARIETY FORAGE PRODUCTION, GULF COAST SUBSTATION, FAIRHOPE, ALABAMA, 1990-1992 SEASONAL FORAGE YIELD/ACRE BRAND-VARIETY EARLY LATE TOTAL AUTUMN WINTER SPRING SPRING LB. LB. LB. LB. LB. RUSTMASTER 1,692 2,719 3,867 1,436 9,714 MARSHALL 1,663 2,741 4,056 1,233 9,693 JACKSON 1,468 2,698 3,637 1,715 9,518 NUTRIBLEND 1,409 2,652 3,879 1,360 9,299 SURRY 1,371 2,363 3,702 1,713 9,149 GULF (SOURCE B) 1,440 2,500 3,550 1,237 8,727 -12- TABLE 8. THREE-YEAR AVERAGE SEASONAL DISTRIBUTION OF RYEGRASS VARIETY FORAGE PRODUCTION, E.V. SMITH RESEARCH CENTER, TALLASSEE, ALABAMA, 1990-1992 SEASONAL FORAGE YIELD/ACRE BRAND-VARIETY EARLY LATE TOTAL AUTUMN WINTER SPRING SPRING LB. LB. LB. LB. LB. RUSTMASTER 1,066 1,301 3,644 1,024 7,035 MARSHALL 1,226 1,061 3,624 1,040 6,951 JACKSON 999 1,190 3,491 1,217 6,898 GULF (SOURCE B) 1,077 1,488 3,077 1,073 6,715 SURRY 891 1,219 3,343 1,077 6,529 NUTRIBLEND 942 1,125 3,295 1,018 6,380 -13- TABLE 9. THREE-YEAR AVERAGE SEASONAL DISTRIBUTION OF RYEGRASS VARIETY FORAGE PRODUCTION, SAND MOUNTAIN SUBSTATION, CROSSVILLE, ALABAMA, 1990-1992 SEASONAL FORAGE YIELD/ACRE BRAND-VARIETY EARLY LATE TOTAL AUTUMN WINTER SPRING SPRING LB. LLB LB. L. LB. MARSHALL 643 581 2,672 1,197 5,093 SURRY 636 632 2,466 1,138 4,872 JACKSON 432 755 2,435 1,083 4,705 RUSTMASTER 654 653 2,359 1,026 4,692 NUTRIBLEND 614 454 2,375 1,086 4,529 GULF (SOURCE B) 650 615 1,956 957 4,178 -14-