# Overseeding Rye Grass



## tnwalkingred

Ok guys so like aot of people in the country we are in a severe drought here in middle TN. Hay crops were very short this spring and there is pretty much zero pasture left after no rain and temps over 100 degrees for the past few days. Everyone is scrambling for hay which is already very expensive or selling their livestock. I should be ok with the hay I have stock piled and with the pasture I have if we get a little rain. Just to be on the safe side I have decided to overseed all my pastures with rye grass come the middle of August. This should allow me to have more forage in the fall and early spring. Can I simply just drill it into my exisiting pastures which are composed of mostly orchard grass and fescue? I was thinking 10-15 lbs per acre with a Land Pride OS1548 drill. Then fertilize according to the soil tests. Hopefully this will allow me to feed less hay during the late fall, winter, and early spring months. Thoughts or comments?????

--Kyle


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## Mike120

Kyle, I overseed ryegrass every year in my horse paddocks. I used to use a drill but I get a better stand just using a cyclone spreader followed by a chain drag. I've gotten good results drilling half and spreading half but I'd rather just put down more seed and not bother renting the drill. In reality, how good the stand is depends on the timing and amount of rain. Also, my winters are milder than yours but I've had it down in the teens with no problems.

Last year I seeded a field "just in case" in October....the drought broke, I got butt-deep ryegrass that I grazed part of and rolled up over 3 tons per acre this spring. I've always liked ryegrass because it makes decent winter forage. Now I like it even more and I'll probably overseed the same field again this year.


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## country boy

kyle rye grass was what saved my butt last year , like mike said use a regular spreader get the seed in contact with the ground and it will grow


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## Tim/South

I seed my Bermuda. My drill is an old JD 8200. This is a simi-til drill. The disk openers just scratch the surface, no shanks. On my Bermuda I doubt the disks really contact the soil since by Fall the grass is thick and tough.
On another pasture with just mixed grass the drill does a better job.
In both pastures you can see a good stand rye grass.
I do not know exactly how much hay I save by planting the rye grass. I know it is worth it to me.


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## NDVA HAYMAN

Kyle, Would that be Italian Rye or something else?


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## GeneRector

[sub]







Howdy! In my part of Texas, Leon and surrounding counties, those who planted rye grass in late 2011 and early 2012 was blessed with an early hay crop or forage for cattle, etc. Around here it made some good early hay. In the past most ranchers would just let rye grass be there for the cattle to eat and not even think about baling any. However, early spring had days of good weather for baling and those who were smart took advantage of it to bale hay. It might be a good idea to think about this for next spring as well. Always, Gene[/sub]


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## tnwalkingred

[sub]Thanks for all the good advice guys. I will certainly be planting Rye in all my pastures this spring. The guy who I let hunt on my land is a Horticulture major graduate from Mississippi State and he stated that I need to break up the ground before I plant anything as these pastures have not been worked up in a long time. This is what got me thinking about using a drill. He also stated that I could get a spike roller and then just broadcast and drag it in. Thoughts on which way might work best here in Middle TN?????[/sub]

[sub]--Kyle[/sub]

[sub]PS-The Rye grass I will be planting is called DH-3.[/sub]


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## Tim/South

I would drill as opposed to plowing my pastures. You do not want to expose the Bermuda roots to the cold winter temps.
It would be easier for the Rye grass roots to establish in plowed soil. I am not sure the advantage would be worth the trade off.
A drill would be the ticket.


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## vhaby

Like most posts here indicated, overseeding cool season forages into warm season pastures increases total forage production, saves on hay, and increases cattle weight gains during the winter and early spring. Here is a good article written by a (now-retired) forage research scientist while employed by Texas A&M AgriLife Research at the Overton Center in East Texas. In addition to doing extensive research on this subject, Dr. Evers has been in ranching and overseeding ryegrass in his own pastures for many years. The article goes into detail on how to establish annual ryegrass in bermudagrass sod pastures and discusses yields, etc.

A good read for anyone interested in overseeding annual ryegrass, clovers, etc into warm season grass pastures-

http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/pub/fg/management/2005/overseed/


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