# Education in Bermuda Grass Hay



## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

I have been reading on this forum, with interest, bits and pieces about bermuda grass hay. Since we don't grow this in Virginia or North Dakota, I have never even seen this type of hay. I raise alfalfa, timothy, orchard grass, brome and some others. I have heard about jiggs, spriggs, etc. Can't it be seeded? How is it plugged, jigged, sprigged, etc.? I have also heard about coastal, tifton, bahia, etc. What are the differences and what do people or animals prefer? I always thought it was for golf courses. LOL. What are the ranges for this forage? I know that Carolina has it ( would not know it even if I saw it ) and obviously Texas. Hope to one day physically see it. Mike


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## scrapiron (Mar 10, 2010)

Bermuda grass is a semi-subtropical grass. It has from one to six-eight stems,depending on variety,growing from the crown. The leaves are normaly paired on the stem,have seen as many as six,every 1 to 6 inches,with a size of1/4x1in to 3/4x6in,again depending on variety,have seen stems as long as 10feet. Usually the newest 18-24in is all that will have leaves. The smaller leaf varities are used for turf areas,lawns golf courses, ect.

Some bermuda grass can be propagated from seed ,common & improved, MOST not all hybird bermuda grass are sterile, producing few if any living seed. Hyb are propagated from roots or green tops. The long stems that are mature,over 8wks, will put out roots at almost every joint, where the leaves have gotten old and died. If these stems are not cut and touch the ground they will grow roots and start a new plant. If they are cut and immediately planted into moist ground, in a few days you should have new grass growing. If you dig roots and plant into moist ground they will also grow. Roots are the prefered way to plant as you normaly get a quicker and better stand.

Some of the hyb varities are; Tifton-85,Tifton-44,Coastal,Jiggs,Russell,Alicia,Tift-78,Calliegiant. Coastal is the standard by which ALL bermuda grass varities are judged by, it has been out about 50 yrs,and is still a great grass. All have their good and bad.

Bahia grass is a sub-tropical grass that is very heat and drought tolerant,loves the heat and if it gets dry or cold it goes dormant. Bahia is a very agressive growing grass, able to tolerate acid soil,5.0ph,and will choke out almost any other plant. Bahia is a leaf grass the only stem is on the seed head. Leaves are from 1/4x2 to 3/4x18in. To the best of my knowlege there are no hyb bahia,only improved varities; Argentina, Pensacola, Tift-9, Tiftquick.

Most if not all bermuda&bahia are very agressive grass and are hard to kill. I have seen them come back after 4 sprays of glyphosate at 3qt to acre, they will push up 1in of asphalt to grow and have seen them growing in concrete cracks. Most are great pasture with some also producing great hay,if cut on time. Some of the hyb bermuda grasses, have it seems, an almost unlimited ability to take up Nitrogen.

Sorry for the long post, maybe I was able to give you some good information ???

scrapiron


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

Kinda sounds like our wiregrass.LOL. So are the sprigs hand planted, machine planted, etc.? And if so, at what spacing would you plant these?


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## LaneFarms (Apr 10, 2010)

Most sprigs are broadcast planted. You can either bale small fresh squares or pitchfork it on a trailer and then we use an implement that we call a hayslinger that hooks to the back of the trailer. Someone the puts the sprigs on the slinger and it scatters them out, then you have to disc them in. The roots are generally planted in rows with a different kind of planter.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

NDVA HAYMAN, an image of Tifton 85 bermudagrass:

The fence is about 4 feet tall at the top of the posts.

Another way to sprig hybrid bermudagrasses is to dig the sprigs with a tractor-powered sprig digger that loads the sprigs onto a lowboy trailer. At the sprigging field, the sprigs are offloaded into the hopper of a sprigging machine that automatically places the sprigs into the soil and then has press wheels that roll over the newly set sprigs. A reasonable sprig configuration might be a sprig planted about every three feet in rows about three feet apart. A weighted roller is then dragged over the field to pack the soil to conserve moisture. This method is easier work-wise and faster than mentioned in a previous post, but it may be more expensive.

A method used by some growers is to grow individual bermudagrass plants in very small plastic pots. When growing well, these plants are removed with the potting mix and set into the soil using a transplanting machine.

Some hybrid bermudagrasses developed at Oklahoma State University do well into Kansas.

You also asked about Bahia grass. The double seed head at the top of the stem on this grass is in the form of a V for victory, like its signaling that it will win and take over the field, and it will if the soil pH and the fertility program are not kept up to snuff. Almost within a week of cutting, Bahia grass will extend its seed head.


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

It seems like that would be a very expensive proposition to plant bermuda grass. I could have never imagined planting on a 3x3 grid. How long does it take to fill in? Seems like you would be fighting weeds all the time. I take it that Bahia grass is an unwanted species! I can also see how the Tifton would make a great hay or for grazing. Thanks for that info. Mike


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## RCF (Sep 14, 2009)

We have been known to sprig some. Everything nowadays is done mechanically with Bermuda King equipment in our operation. The grass does take longer than row crop seed to come up and spread and takes a little more management to get established. Some of the others have answered your questions but here is some pics and videos of what some of this stuff looks like:

Dad pulling two spriggers....
YouTube - Puma 210 Sprigging

Gpas website showing sprig digging.....
Jim Russell Hay & Sprig Farm, Inc. - We grow and produce high quality Tifton 85, Tifton 44 and Coastal bermuda grass sprigs for sale

Pic of me mowing some Tifton 85
View attachment 1074


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## Greyhorse (Jun 22, 2009)

It is expensive to plant and can be slow to establish but if you take care of it it will be there for 25, 30, maybe even 50 years. I put in about 5 acres of Tifton 85 last spring throwing it out behind a 6' disc and then overlapping the next pass to cover it up. We had a fairly dry spring and very dry summer and it still managed to come in quite well and I got a couple light cuttings off of it even. When it did get rain the runners would grow3-4" in a day so it covered a lot of ground when there was water available.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

Here is another site to continue "Education in Bermudagrass hay":

Bermudagrass in Georgia | Publications | UGA

This site describes rhizome (underground runners) and stolon (above ground runners) growth rates of 2 to 3 inches per day. I agree with Greyhorse that under good growing conditions, such as high level of soil fertility and long hot sunny days with adequate plant-available soil water, growth rates of stolons have been measured exceeding 4 to 5 inches per day. (This is not a tall Texas tale)


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

That is incredible that it will grow that quickly. Had no idea. Now, if I could only teach my alfalfa that trick. LOL


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