Forage Update: Forage Breeding and Genetics Focus: to develop low-input, high quality forages for livestock and wildlife for Florida and southern Coastal Plain Variety development (oat, triticale, tetraploid bahiagrass, utility-type bahiagrass, grazing-type perennial peanut, cold tolerant limpograss) State-wide (80 ct.) variety testing and demonstrations (Cheryl Mackowiak, Jose Dubeux, Marcello Wallau, Ali Babar, Esteban Rios and UF-County Extension Faculty Endophyte evaluation in Florida grasses (bahiagrass, smutgrass, broomsedge, common bermudagrass, Brunswickgrass, and limpograss)
2017-2018 Forage Demonstrations Shenandoah Dairy, UF Dairy, White Oak Dairy, North Florida Holsteins and Silver Spurs
2017-2018 On-Farm Milk Check-off Demonstration 1 Trical 342 Triticale 2 Trical 342 (Trical 342/Earlyploid Ryegrass) 3 Blend (Wrens Abruzzi/Earlyploid ryegrass) 4 Blend (Wrens Abruzzi/Coker 227 Oat) 5 RAM LA99016 Oat 6 Buck (RAM LA99017) Oat 7 Legend 567 Oat 8 FL0720 Oat 9 Coker 227 Oat 10 Florida 401 Rye 11 Wrens Abruzzi Rye 12 Elbon Rye 13 Gore Wheat 14 Grazer Max Wheat 15 Earlyploid Ryegrass 16 Big Boss Ryegrass 17 Prine Ryegrass 18 Attain Ryegrass 19 TAMTBO Ryegrass 20 Common Gulf Annual Ryegrass
2017-2018 Releases and Regional Trials Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana Cereal Rye FL 104 FL405 Early 2X FL406 Full Season 2X Ryegrass FL-MARONA AT1 AT3 Triticale FL08128 FL01143 Oat Legend 567 Horizon 720
2017-2018 Wildlife Demonstrations
2017-2018 Wildlife Demonstration Trial 1 Maxie Wheat 2 Grazer Pro Wheat 3 FL 401 Rye 4 Wrens Abruzzi Rye 5 Coker 227 Oat 6 Buck Forage Oat (LA99017) 7 Plotspike Forage Oat (LA 99016) 8 Legend 567 Oat 9 Trical 342 Triticale 10 Handcock s Fall & Winter Wildlife Mix 11 Hancock s Deer Greens Mix 12 Imperial Tall Tine Tuber 13 Trophy Winter Rape 14 Barkant Turnip 15 Daikon Buster Radish 16 Evolved Harvest Food Plot Blend (7 Card Stud) 17 Biologic Green Patch 18 Durana white clover 19 Ball clover 20 Southern Belle red clover 21 Dixie crimson clover 22 Austrian Winter peas 23 Frosty berseem clover 24 UF-Triple Treat Blend (White clover, Red clover, Crimson clover)
2017-2018 Legume Demonstration Trial
2017-2018 Legume Demonstrations 1 Durana white clover 2 Nachez white clover 3 Regalgraze white clover 4 Ocoee white clover 5 Barduro red clover 6 Southern Belle red clover 7 AU Red Ace red clover 8 Ball clover 9 Dixie crimson clover 10 AU Sunrise crimson clover 11 Austrian Winter pea 12 Whistler Winter pea 13 Lynx Winter pea 14 Fixation Balansa clover 15 Persian clover 16 Cahaba white vetch 17 Blue lupine 18 UF-Triple Treat Clover Blend 19 Pennington clover trio 20 Trical 342 Triticale/Clover-Winter Pea Blend
Cold stress on oats oats more susceptible than other small grains ryegrass may be damaged prolonged warm weather followed by a quick freeze event
Helminthosporium Leaf Spot on small grains Bipolaris (Helminthosporium, Drechslera)
Leaf rust Rust (Puccinia graminis) on small grains and ryegrass
Gray Leafspot on ryegrass Pyricularia grisea
Endophytes in Warm Season Grasses Oregon State University School of Veterinarian Medicine Toxicology Department and Mycotoxin Service Laboratory Jenni Duringer and Dr. Morrie Craig USDA ARS Research Leaders Dr. Glen Aiken (Kentucky) and Dr. Charles Bacon (Georgia) Evaluate the presence of fungal endophytes in Bahiagrass cv Argentine and cv Pensacola Brunswickgrass cv Doncorae and Amocorae Smutgrass ecotypes Giant and Small Broomsedge Bermudagrass Common and cv Jiggs Limpograss cv Floralta
Endophytes in Warm Season Grasses State Faculty: Max Irsik, Sunny Liao, Cheryl Mackowiak, Brent Sellers, Jose Dubeux, Ian Small, Nick DiLorenzo, Clarissa Wickens and Marcello Wallau County Faculty: Brittany Justesen Osceola J.K Yarborough Seminole Kalyn Waters Holmes International Faculty: Florencia Marcon UNNE Carlos Acuna UNNE
Current Findings: Extracted the metabolites from all grasses Found varying concentrations of the ergocristine (ergot alkaloid), altenuene, sterigmatocystin, zearalenone, emodin, beauvericin and tentoxin What their concentrations are in our plants and what these mycotoxins do in relation to animal health is the next important question DNA sequencing to determine fungal endophytes responsible for mycotoxin presence (Myriogenospora atromentosa, Fusarium, etc.)
Bottom Line: Most of these are naturally occurring endophytic relationships More beneficial than harmful to our pasture plants They allow these plants to survive under low fertility, sandy soils, plant diseases, insects and other detrimental pests. Pasture management may be the key (add legumes, rotationally graze) We received preliminary funding to purchase of a small freeze dryer for sample preparation
Brunswickgrass Brunswickgrass (Paspalum nicorae) Alias Brown seeded paspalum Native to S. Brazil, N. Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay Introduced to U.S. for soil conservation (erosion control and forage) Well adapted to many soil types Naturalized and competitive with bahiagrass and bermudagrass. Cattle grazing Brunswick grass consume the grass when young Low palatability, dominates in perennial grass pastures. Contaminated bahiagrass seed fields/pastures reported (Jackson, Gadsden, Madison, Suwannee, Gilchrist, Levy, Alachua, Citrus, Osceola and Sumter counties)
Appearance Brunswickgrass is a perennial summer grass Similar growing season and appearance to that of bahiagrass Closely related to bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) Similar flowering to Pensacola bahiagrass but it often has 3 4 racemes per head Bahiagrass has typically 2 to 3 racemes Bahiagrass Brunswick grass
Brunswickgrass flowering seed head
Root Systems Brunswickgrass Bahiagrass
Seed Comparison Brunswickgrass Bahiagrass Seed are slightly smaller than that of Pensacola bahiagrass seed coat has a dark, chestnut brown center Seed are noticeably convex in shape compared to flat, tan colored seed of bahiagrass
Brunswickgrass Close up of seed
Learning curve We need to know how to identify the plant how many acres are infested how unpalatable it is how hard seeded it is how long it persists in the seed bank how do we eradicate it We plan to develop a Quality Assurance bahiagrass seed program with the bahiagrass seed industry We created a Task Force of members from the Department of Agriculture (AL, GA and FL), commercial seedsmen, cattlemen, and research and extension faculty (AU, UGA and UF) to address the above issues in a TEAM approach
Managing Brunswickgrass in Bahiagrass Seed Fields NESPAL Building, UGA Tifton Campus 10 a.m. 3 p.m. 2-12-18 Topics: Description & history of brunswickgrass Contamination of bahiagrass seed fields Id ing bahiagrass & brunswickgrass Seed processing challenges Are herbicides an option? Seed industry perspectives & discussion More info at: www.georgiaforages.com