Chemical dormancy and cool-season annual forage establishment method effects on overseeded bahiagrass

Abstract

Warm-season perennial pastures are the base of livestock production systems in lower Alabama. To overcome the shortage in forage production during the late fall and winter months, during bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) dormancy, overseeding pastures with cool-season annuals can be used as an option for providing forage. Diverse forage mixtures of multiple forage species along with effective establishment methods could help increase production in this system, but few evaluations have been conducted in overseeded sods. The first objective of these studies was to evaluate forage mass and nutritive value of different cool-season forage mixtures overseeded in bahiagrass. The second objective was to evaluate cool-season annual production using different planting methods to overseeding bahiagrass sod treated with different herbicides to induce a chemical dormancy.