News from your Extension Agent
Bahiagrass is a common warm season grass grown for forage across the southern United States. Bermudagrass is also a common warm season grass grown for forage. It seems as though if you desire one over the other, it’s the one you DON’T want to grow in your pasture that seems to be taking over. Both forages produce a quality product for grazing. See below for some facts about both and for control without harming the desired forage.
Bermudagrass: perennial warm season grass that grows best in pH 5.5 to 7.5, sandy-loam soils. It is adapted to slightly acidic soils, tolerates grazing and is fairly drought tolerant. Recommended seeding rate is at least 10 pounds per acre. It may be sold as seed or as sprigs. Coastal bermudagrass sprigs should be planted at a rate of 20-25 bushels per acre. Seeds should be planted between April and May. Seed costs at this recommended rate equaled out to about $70-80 per acre for the 2018 planting season. Production can be high under intense management.
Bahiagrass: perennial warm season grass that grows best in pH 5.0 to 7.0, in sandy-loam to infertile soils. Bahiagrass tolerates the coastal plains and humid subtropical areas a bit more readily than bermudagrass. It is also drought tolerant. Recommended seeding rate is 15-20 pounds per acre. Seeds should be planted in April. Seed costs at this recommended rate equaled out to about $85-100 per acre for the 2018 planting season. It does not tolerate shade. Some producers consider Bahiagrass to be a weed; it is also susceptible to ergot poisoning.
As noted, the cost of both Bahiagrass and Bermudagrass seeds were exceptionally high this year and actually bermudagrass, the forage with slightly higher nutritive values, ended up being a little bit cheaper as far as the seed itself is concerned. Keep in mind though, in order to achieve the greatest yield, intense management of bermudagrass is required. It can often be more cost effective overall to plant and graze Bahiagrass
Bahiagrass can often overtake a clean bermudagrass field if producers are not careful. Intensely managing the bermudagrass and maintaining a good stand is the best way to prevent a Bahiagrass invasion. If chemical control is necessary, products with MSM (metsulfuron-methyl) are recommended. Products such as Chaparral, Cimarron Plus or Cimarron Xtra (all containing MSM) are not known to cause injury to bermudagrass. However, they must be applied after full greenup, but before seedhead formation and always follow label instructions.
Another effective way to avoid a Bahiagrass invasion is to ensure that tractors, trailers and other equipment are cleaned after working in fields containing Bahiagrass. Producers should not feed Bahiagrass hay in bermudagrass fields. During a drought situation where excess hay is bought- be careful what you purchase. Since Bahiagrass is also more drought tolerant and more tolerant of insect pressure, poor conditions make for great opportunity for Bahiagrass to invade bermudagrass fields.
“To summarize, Bahiagrass has a bad reputation, but only when compared with well-managed Bermudagrass.” For more questions concerning Bahiagrass vs. Bermudagrass or herbicide use in either of the two forages, please contact the Camp County Extension Office- 903-856-5005.
All data and recommendations are based on Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Resources, http://forages.tamu.edu.
#AgFact Bahiagrass is about 8.3 percent crude protein on a dry matter basis. Bermudagrass is about 10.7 percent crude protein on a dry matter basis. This means it essentially takes less Bermudagrass than Bahiagrass to fill a grazing animal.