Brown, E. Marion (Eliphalet Marion), 1898-1984

University of Missouri: MOspace

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI COLL E GE OF AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIO N M . F. MILLER , D'irector CIRCULAR 285 C o illtllbi a, Mo, FEBRUARY, 1944 Improve Permanent Pastures with Lespedeza, Phosphate, Lime, and Supplementary Grazing E. MAR ION BROWN Fif ld Crops /JI'/,OrlJlI l' lIt, Al i,l'xu llri A f!, ric ll ltlll'lli F.I /,erilll l' lIt .'-;tatioll. lIlIti lli e Div i,fiu ll of Foroge CropJ (/iid DiSl'OJ!',' . 811rl'01l of 1'1(/ 111 I lItllIJlry , Soils olld Agric lllillral Ell g ill eerill f!, . A g ri r ll li ll rol N c.reorl' li Admill iJ lr(/lio ll, Ullil r d SIOI I'.I' /) /' p(/rllll £' 1I1 uf A ~ ric lI!llIre, C oo prrolillg, Lnte fn ll PO S ll"'~ pro vhll'rl lI y wllller bnl' lcy 01' 1')'C, The acre yield of mea t, milk, or wool obtained from perm anent pastures can be m:Jteri all y and profitabl y increased ( 1) by increas ing the quantity and improving the qu ali ty of the forage produced, and (2 ) by managing grazi ng so that: ' th e ava il ab le forage will be full y consul11ed during seasons when it is more nutritious. The productivity 2 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION of the pasture can be increased, and the quality of the forage improv'ed by applying phosphate and lime to soils that are deficient in these minerals, and by establishing a legume in the grass sod. In order to use with maximum efficiency forage produced by the permanent pas-ture, supplementary pastures must be provided and used during much of the summer and fall. LEGUMES, PHOSPHATE, LIME The key to the successful improvement of permanent pastures is the establishment in them of one or more legumes capable of growing in association with grass, partly because of the forage value of the legume, and partly because of its ability to fix nitrogen from the atmos-phere and make it available to the grass. Most permanent pasture soils in Missou'ri are deficient, not only in available nitrogen, but also in phosphorus and calcium. These de-ficiencies can be corrected only by applying to the soil liberal quantities of phosphate fertilizer and agricultural limestone. Unless these mate-rials are first applied to depleted soils, no legume will be fully effective in fixing atmospheric nitrogen and making it available to the grass. vVithout a legume, any improvement in the grass that might result from applying phosphate fertilizer and lime will be unprofitably small. The combined action of an adapted legume plus phosphate fertilizer and lime is required to achieve the desired improvement in permanent pastures. USE LESPEDEZA A number of legumes, including sweet clover, Laclino clover, al-falfa, red clover, alsike, birdsfoot trefoil, and low hop clover, have been used in I?ermanent pastures in the Middle West with varying degrees of success. White clover invades permanent pastures without seeding when rainfall is adequate and well distributed, but its occurrence in important quantities is too infrequent and uncertain to be relied on in Missouri. The annual lespedezas, Korean and improved strains of common, have certain advantages that make them particularly useful for pasture improvement. Either Korean or common lespedeza can be established in grass sods with a greater probability of success than any other legume yet tried in this State. In fact, if grazing is correctly managed, failures to obtain good stands of lespedeza in grass seldom occur except when rain is so abundant that white clover is plentif]ll or when rain is so deficient that no seedling legume could survive. Under the first condi-tion, white clover serves the purpose quite as well as lespedeza would have, and only the lespedeza seed is lost. When drought is severe CIRCULAR 285 3 (' nough I() des l I'll .\' ll's pcd(,'(:I, secdlings or ot her leg llmes will nM slJI" vive in gra ss s()ds. Full usc c; ln he 11l ;ld e or th e p:lsrme in whi h les pedez:1 h;ls hcen SOW Il during th e Ill'S! as wL,1I as during c:l(' h suhse(Jllent ye~ r roll owing seeding. In ract, the graz ing s('hedule Ih;)t makes mos t effi cient li se or Ke ntucky bluegra ss, brolllegr:lss, orc h~l'd gra ss ~ nd redtop, is also most conducive to sue ss rul l1lailll'en;'ln ce or Irspedcz:l in grass sods. This is not tru c or sweet clovcr and some olh er legum ·s whi ch must' hc protcctcd from grazing during much or thc Ilrsi' yea r rollowing rheir initi al csta blishmcnt . Th c es tablishment of Ics pedeza ill grass sods is rel:1tively easy and in ·xpensivc. N o prep:lrato ry till age of the sod is required and th e seed ca n be broa dcas t or drill ed along with phosphate rertili zer at an y t ime during th c winter months. Ko reiln lespcdez;] seed is read-il y obtainable and in ex pcnsivc . but seed {Jr Ko bc :lnd Mher improved str:l ins o r co ml11 on Ics pedcza is at prcsent diffi cult to obtain :lIld is highcr in pricc than Kor :l n les pedcza. T he ahility of les pedcza to tolerll te soil <l cidity makes it unneccs-sa ry to del;] y secd ing this Icgume until r centl y app lied lime has had time to r act with thc so il. Its :J cid toler;l11 ce docs not, however, jus-t iry withholding thc appli cation or limes tone to calcil ll11 dell cient p ~S­turc soil s. 4 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SOIL TREATMENT Agricultural limestone should be broadcast at the rate of 2 to 3 tons per acre, depending on the degree of soil acidity. * This can be done at any time the weather and other farm work will permit. Lime need not be applied more often than once every 10 tol2 years. Apply phosphate fertilizers during the cool weather of late fall or early winter. Less of the phosphate is rendered unavailable by soil fixation at low than at high soil temperatures. Apply phosphate fertilizer to permanent pastures at the rate of not less than 500 pounds per acre of 20 per cent superphosphate or equivalent amounts of other grades. If the amount of phosphate fer-tilizer must be limited, apply it at the recommended rate to a reduced acreage rather than to the entire pasture at a reduced rate. Light applications of phosphate fertilizers often have no appreciable effect on old grass sods, but adequate applications continue to improve the grass for at least 5 years. Surface applied phosphate fertilizers penetrate the soil very slow-ly. It is essential, therefore, that the phosphate fertilizer be worked into the soil. This is done most economically by drilling it through the fertilizer attachment of a grain drill set for maximum depth. If drilling is not possible, the fertilizer can be worked into the soil by disking or field cultivating the sad both before and after broadcasting the phosphate. Surplus vegetation should be removed by close graz-ing or mowing and raking before attempting to drill or work phosphate fertilizer into the soil. SOWING LESPEDEZA IN PERMANENT PASTURES Kobe and other improved strains of common lespedeza are some-what better able to compete with perennial grasses and much better able to compete with white clover than Korean lespedeza. If seed can be obtained, there is an advantage in using these improved strains of common lespedeza in the southern half of Missouri where the frost-free period is normally long enough to permit the later maturing les-pedezas to mature seed. Korean lespedeza, the seed of which is cheaper and generally available, is the more practicable species at the present time. Lespedeza can be successfully established by broad'casting the seed on untilled grass sod at any time from the first of Dtcember to the end of March. If the drill used to apply phosphate fertilizer has *Connty Agents are trained flnet equipped to test the lime requirement of soil. C IRCULAR 285 5 a grass-seeding attachment, seeding and fert ili zin g ca n he accomplished wirh one operation. Winter seedings of les pedeza are somewhat more hazard oll s rh:l11 ea rl y spring seedings in so urhern Missouri bec:luse of prcmaturc W :IrI11 we:lrh er followcd hy ki lling co ld rhar sonlt' rimes occurs in I:h;)t section . In ord er to obta in a full first-yea r stand. sow lespedeza at lhe rare of 25 pounds of seed per acre. Once esta blished, the stand of les pedeza will be renewed from yea r to yea r by nat ural reseeding. GRAZING MANAGE MENT Les ped eza ca nnot be estab li shed nor maint ain ed In dense sta nds of pasture grasses unless graz ing is properl y managed. Fortunately th e graz ing schedule th at promotes the growth and nat ural reseeding of Icspcdeza is neith er com plex nor wastef ul of ava il able forage. Both Korean and common les pedeza :I re annua ls that must start fr om seed each spring. Und er the most favorab le n at ural conditions, the seed lings grow slowly during Apr il and earl y Ma y. They ca nnot, a t th is s tage, withstand excess ive shad ing either by more rapid ly grow-ing plants or by plant res id ues left from the preceding growing season. Th ey are also poorl y equipped to compete during the cool weather of spring with the more vigo rous grass for limi ted sllPplies of pbnr fo od and moist ure. 6 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Pastures that are to be fertilized, limed, and seeded to lespedeza should be grazed closely during the fall. Growth that cannot be pas-tured off should be mowed, raked, and burned or hauled away. Each spring, including that which follows the initial seeding of lespedeza, grazing should begin in the permanent pasture as early as the grass is in vigorous growth. This will usually be late March or early April in south Missouri, mid-April in central Missouri, and late April in north Missouri. The number of livestock should be adjusted so that the grass in the permanent pasture will be utilized fully, but not overgrazed, by early July, when lespedeza, in small grain stubble should be ready to pasture. The average improved pasture will carry one mature cow or two-year-old steer, or the equivalent in other ages and kinds of livestock, per acre from mid-April to early July. If the lespedeza and annual weed-grasses make a large summer growth, this vegetation can be pastured off during late August and early September. From mid-September to mid-November the perma-nent pasture should be protected from grazing to permit the grass to restore food reserves depleted by .intensive grazing during spring and early summer. Protection from grazing during the summer will not accomplish this because the northern perennial grasses, when grown in this latitude, store foods only during the cooler portions of the grow-ing season. Close grazing retards food storage by reducing leaf area. After November 15 in the northern, and December 1 in the south-ern part of the State, the summer and fall growth can be pastured off without harmful effect on the perennial grasses. Although less nutri-tious than the immature grass used during the spring, this partially dry grass is valuable for maintenance when other pasturage is usually not available. Not only is it desirable to use this accumulated growth to con-serve stored hay and grain, but it is essential to remove this plant residue in order to prevent it from retarding or suppressing the early development of lespedeza during the subsequent spring. SUPPLEMENTARY PASTURES The permanent pasture that has been fully utilized from April to July usually will not supply much forage during the summer. Even when summer rainfall is abundant, protection from grazing is advis-able to permit maximum nitrogen fixation by the lespedeza. It is necessary, therefore, to provide supplementary pastures during mid-and late summer. Korean lespedeza in wheat, oats, barley, or rye stubble will pro-vide excellent pasture at small cost from early July to mid-September CIRCULAR 2~5 7 for producing dairy COIVS, and to ea rl y October for all other li vestock. T he les pedeza in grain stub ble wi ll be affected less by suml1ler drought than th<lt in grass sod beca use it will Inve less compet ition for t he limi ted so il moisture suppl y. Sud an grilss can also he used ilS suppl ement ary pasture from e:II"ly J ldy 10 frost. ~ 1 (\ll r 8 p:t ::i Lllfl'd llll h lll l'J; nl. ~ti · ll\S P (' t1 l11. a (1', Hlt .\p r i l ~l In .1 III ,\" :n. lIlid H I! 1\111'1'11 11 1" :.. jll-III ·". :1 ill \\ III'Ht :,,\ 11111111. , 1" '0 111 .l lll y ;\ 1 to ~ t ' pl"IIII'I ' 1' 1:1 , "il l! 1111 111 111'1' I'I ,t 'li " hi lt' 11 11 pn~t llr r. Early sow n rye r winter barley C<l n he pas tured durin g; 0 tobe r ;I nd Novemb er, a period during whi ch the permanent past ure should be protected from grazing. First-ye<l r sweet clover is also useful for this purpose, although close gr:lz ing duri ng October will l1l ateri :t1l y ret ard growth during thc sccond yc;] r and may n:duce th ~ l a l1d. SUMMARY Permanent past ures ca n be profit ab ly improved by the combined ac ti on of a legume, plus phosphate fertili zer and lime. Although other legu mes ca n be used and some, notab ly sweet clover, fi x nitrogen more r<lpid ly, the annu al lespedezas ha ve ce rtain advantages for pasture improvement. Kobe and other improved st rains of comlllon les pedeza ;ue slightly superior to Korean lespedeza as pasture improve rs in the southern MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION half of Missouri, but they mature too late for use in the northern half of the State. Seed of improved strains of common lespedeza is at present difficult to obtain and more expensive than Korean lespedeza seed . . Broadcast or drilllespedeza seed during the winter or early spring at the rate of 25 pounds of seed per acre on closely grazed but un-tilled sod. Apply 20 per cent superphosphate, or its equivalent, at the rate of 500 pounds per acre in late fall or early winter. Drill or work the phosphate fertilizer into the sod. Broadcast agricultural limestone at the rate indicated by soil test at any time of year that the weather and other farm work will permit. Correct grazing management is essential for the successful es-tablishment and maintenance of lespedeza in grass sod and for effi-cient use of available forage. Pasture the grass closely prior to fertilizer application and the initial seeding. Each year start grazing as early as the grass is in vig-orous growth, and pasture heavily enough to utilize fully the available forage by early July. Avoid overgrazing. Provide lespedeza or sudan grass for summer supplementary pas-ture. Use early sown winter barley or rye, or first-year sweet clover during October and November. A lush growth of summer weed-grasses and lespedeza, resulting from abundant summer rainfall, may be pastured off during late August and early September, but rest the grass from mid-September to mid-November or early December regardless of the amount of growth. Pasture off the accumulated herbage during the winter. 

Improve permanent pastures with lespedeza, phosphate, lime, and supplementary grazing

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