# K194 Bermuda Seed



## bandit44 (Aug 25, 2010)

Anybody ever planted this kind of seed before? It is suppose to grow about 30 tons of forage a year per acre.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

You might want to research this a bit more. Surely you are describing yield of fresh, uncut grass. 30 tons of uncut bermudagrass containing 76% moistre equates to about 8.6 tons of dry matter per acre. That is quite high for seeded bermudagrass, but is much more realistic. Is this growing in tropical conditions and under irrigation?


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## scrapiron (Mar 10, 2010)

bandit44 said:


> It is suppose to grow about 30 tons of forage a year per acre.


bandit44: You have my attention !!!! I have Russell & Tift-85 bermuda, the 2 best around HERE. Tell me more about K194 bermuda or where I can find more info about it. I can have 10 acres ready to plant by Sat, cut the ground the first time this afternoon.

scrapiron


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## bandit44 (Aug 25, 2010)

First let me correct 2 mistakes I have made, it is KF-194 and it claims 16.91 tons of forage per year per acre. I am trying to find someone else that has planted this to see what kind of results they have had. I planted some about seven weeks ago and don't have the first sign of anything coming up. Just wanted to see if anybody else has had similar results or is this just my bad luck showing itself again.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

Are you sure you didn't mean KF CD 194 bermuda grass? If so, it didn't do so well in research plots at Texas A&M-Overton during the fifth year of their study.

http://forages.tamu.edu/PDF/seeded%20bg.pdf

Yes, I saw the Genetic Seed and Chemical ad that claimed the 16 ton/acre annual yields that you mention, but I saw no research data on that site to support their claim. Did I miss something.


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## bandit44 (Aug 25, 2010)

I don't know if you missed something but I know I am missing about $1000 for buying and planting 75lbs of this seed. I had 0% come up and no luck getting any money back. I know there are a lot of things that can effect seeds coming up, but you would think with everything to do with the soil and weather looking normal that at least one seed out of 75 lbs. would have come up.


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## kingkutter (Dec 22, 2011)

I would like all your opinions on this variety. I plan on planting pure kf194 on 36 ac spring 2012.


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## Thad (Nov 29, 2011)

I planted 12 acres of KF 194 3 yrs ago. I had good luck getting a stand but i was highly dissapointed in the yield. The same yr i planted kf 194 i had also planted common bermuda in a anouther filed. Same soil and same fertilize and four cuttings later, the 194 was 6 small square bales ahead. For the price difference in seed there is no way i would plant anymore 194.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

http://forages.tamu.edu/PDF/Bermudagrass Varieties.pdf

If this is a clean link it will have paper by two Texas Forage Specalist. Page 2 has a table than that says the glass is half full or half empty demending on your point of view,


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

Word of caution on the DM information. 
If you do your work well you can figure 75 or 80% of the dry matter numbers will be harvested hay. Poor harvesting methods and you can expect maybe 50% of their numbers.

Open grazing and you can expect the cattle to harvest 25% of those numbers. With good managed grazing methods you can expect to harvest 75% of their numbers.

Keep this inmind, 8T (16,000 lbs)/A of hay will use at least 320 lbs of actual nitrogen. That is 1,000 lbs/A of 32-0-0 fertilizer. With management you will need a third of that amount.

You will also need close to 500 lbs/A of potassium fertilizer.

Otherwise any grass hay yield will be a less than advertised.


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## GeneticSeed (Jan 30, 2014)

KF-194 is great plants better one is Sungrazer 777.

Here is a picture of the Sungrazer 777 in it hay windrows planted at 25 pounds per acre March 2012 this is the first cutting. Area is Stephenville Texas, pretty good for a dry area or droughty.

Sungrazer is a blend of 45% KF194, plus Jackpot plus Highlander. It will take you 3 years at 15 lbs per acre of seed. It will produce great yields. It is easy to start from seeds. Designed for horse quality hay.

Also is a picture at 35 days old Sungrazer 777.

What it will not outproduce is Tifton 85.

The KF-194 16.91 tons is over a 3-4 year university trail from Kansas State. Sungrazer 777 Produced 19.60 ton in the same studies.

NOT BAD at ALL!!!


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

Any News from Bandit44 on his seeded bermudagrass results?

Looked at the opening post and 30 tons of grass, at 80% moisture might be 6 Tons of dry matter. As harvested for hay might be 8 tons of hay, minus a conservative estimate of 25% loss in harvesting. Puts it back to 6 T/A of hay per year. That would be 240 lbs of Nitrogen removed as 12% CP hay. Again at least 750 lbs of nitrogen fertilizer, more than likely my original estimate for 1,000 lbs of Something that in the 30 to 45% N range.

How your apply that fertilizer depends on your soils, climate, & Management Style.

Looking at a 30 ton annual hay crop, that is always possible. Try it in the California Low Desert, get 8 to 10 cuttings with buried drip irrigation. Bale with a high capacity three tie baler, or better a Big Square Baler. With bermudagrass you possibly could cut this morning and bale around midnight tonight. By noon tomorrow all the hay will be on a truck or in a road side stack.

Note: bermudagrass is 60 to 70% leaf, and the leaves are what shatters in hay harvesting. I see a larger accumulation of bermudagrass leaves than alfalfa leaves on my baler after harvesting.

I find that it is difficult to have LESS than 12% CP with bermudagrass hay. Some articles mention that the standard for bermudagrass is in the 6 to 8% CP range. I attribute the lower CP to leaf shatter not a lack of nitrogen or to long an interval between cuttings. Shattering that many leaves and the bales of bermudagrass will still look good to the casual buyer. The yield also will be maybe a third less.

Shatter that many leaves off alfalfa and you will have what looks like a bundle of sticks,

Use the hay analysis as a plant analysis and keep the fertility up, through out the season.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Think he's still looking for that 1k......lol


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