# Millet as companion to common bermuda



## bigpete (Mar 5, 2011)

We have rye grass as a temporary cover crop in place and will be planting common bermuda. Initially we were thinking about no-tilling the bermuda into the temporary cover. The thought being that we don't want to till up the soil and expose the soil the erosion. We have been advised that the rye grass will out-compete the bermuda.

The recommendation we are looking in to going with is to till in the rye grass and plant the bermuda with foxtail millet as a companion crop. This is not only a recommendation that we've gotten locally but I am finding it is a common erosion-control practice.

My question is why can the bermuda out-compete the foxtail but not established rye grass?


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## scrapiron (Mar 10, 2010)

Here the ryegrass we use has so much leaf canopy,and the root system is to thick for the bermuda grass to get started. I have some hyb tetraployd ryegrass that will even slow down and hurt established bahia grass, that is hard to do.

If I can ask WHY are you going to seed common bermuda?? A improved variety or a hyb bermuda is so much more productive. I have sprayed many an acre of common bermuda trying to kill it. Will give you all the common you want, come and get it.

scrapiron


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## bigpete (Mar 5, 2011)

We are primarily concerned with erosion control in the areas we are planting. We plan on sprigging coastal next season in some of our more open areas.


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## Greyhorse (Jun 22, 2009)

If you are planning to put coastal in next year I wouldn't be trying to establish common bermuda anywhere that you'll be sprigging, it's hard to kill it when you are trying to.


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