Pasture prep for sprigging Jiggs Bermuda

[bullred]

I've got about 30-40 acres that I want to sprig with Jiggs bermuda in SE Texas. Right now it is covered with native grass, San Augustine, and a lot of what I've been told is wild rose weed. What do I need to do to prep the ground for sprigging the bermuda? Shoud I spray to kill the grass that's there? I'm assuming I should disc up the ground. But how long after spraying till I disc? How many times will I need to go over it with a disc to make sure everything is dead before I'm ready to sprig? What herbicide should I use to kill the native grass, that won't deter the growth of the bermuda?

I realize this is a lot of questions, but I'm completely ignorant when it comes to pasture improvement, and I know there is a ton of experience on this site to draw from. Thanks in advance for any suggestions/advice.

CJ

 

[SF]

I've got about 30-40 acres that I want to sprig with Jiggs bermuda in SE Texas. Right now it is covered with native grass, San Augustine, and a lot of what I've been told is wild rose weed. What do I need to do to prep the ground for sprigging the bermuda? Shoud I spray to kill the grass that's there? I'm assuming I should disc up the ground. But how long after spraying till I disc? How many times will I need to go over it with a disc to make sure everything is dead before I'm ready to sprig? What herbicide should I use to kill the native grass, that won't deter the growth of the bermuda?

I realize this is a lot of questions, but I'm completely ignorant when it comes to pasture improvement, and I know there is a ton of experience on this site to draw from. Thanks in advance for any suggestions/advice.

CJ

I don't know about the wild rose weed, but glyphosate (Roundup) will kill all of the grasses and will not leave any residule behind. Glyphosate should kill the wild rose weed too, I'm just not sure how much you would need to use. You will need to adjust your rate of glyphosate depending upon the growing condition of the grass. If you've been getting some rain and the grass is growing one quart per acre will be plenty, if not you may need to go as much as 2 quarts per acre. St Augustine is easy to kill with glyphosate.

You will need to disc it enough to break the ground up and provide a good seedbed.

You are going to need moisture to keep the spriggs from dying and to get them established. If this is non-irrigated you may be a little late this year to depend on rain fall to get them growing.

I'm currently running some cows on native grasses about 75 miles south of you, down in Matagorda County. We've found the native grasses do well. We spray for weeds and we try to have a little clover established for the spring.

Good luck with whatever you do.

 

[TXCOWBOY]

bullred,

You are late this year to really have a good chance to get your dirt prep done. Heat is here and rain will not be enough in the middle of the summer to get your grass growing. Wait until late sept/early october and use roundup to burn your grass down before it goes dormant.

Wait about a month and plow it under. Let it sit for a while, then start your disc work. Drag pasture to create a good seed bed.

Contract someone to sprig your field in the spring.

Put down some Diuron Herbicide the same day you sprig and roll your field. This will kill weeds, but let you bermuda grow.

Honestly, I would get a soil test done. Find out what fertilizer is needed and upgrade your native pasture this way. You can use a good herbicide to knock out the weeds also. This would be much cheaper and easier to do.

No question that hybrid bermudas are the grass of choice. It's time, effort, and cost involved you must consider. Sprigs sometimes are hard to get established too.

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

bullred -- regarding the roses, check out the following:


http://cnrit.tamu.edu/discussion/cgrm/m ... 1116253562


There are lots of McCartney rose problems in my area. The local herbicide guys always advise us to use Grazon for foliar treatment (not Remedy), but of course if you want to buy it yourself you need to have a private applicator's license. Alternatively, I assume that in your area you could pretty readily hire it done. In addition, check with your local ag office -- if folks are growing cotton in fairly close proximity the use of Grazon is probably banned until Sept. or October.

I doubt this would have any appeal to you, but another method that worked for us years ago on a pasture that was outrageously overgrown with roses (many of which were at least 8 feet high) was to get in there and quickly scrape the surface with a wide bladed dozer and then we let a guy row crop the place rent-free for a couple of years. A few years of row cropping will pretty much eradicate the roses.

If you just have a relative few pretty tall rose bushes you can kill them by using Remedy/diesel and spraying it on ALL of the canes that you see coming out of the ground, but it will probably take some repetitive effort. I've had pretty good results doing it that way for the few roses I've had on my place.

Regarding the overall project, my thoughts are pretty much similar to other posters. I would guess that Roundup (or any of the generics) would kill just about all the grass currently on your site. But remember, there is probably a lot of seed lying around, ready to germinate at some time. If you are really thinking about sprigging (as opposed to planting "tops") you should probably just plan on waiting until next winter or early spring. I'd try to kill the grass now as well as the rose bushes, shred the dead rose bushes, disc the hell out of it, let more grass germinate (and roses pop up), disc again, etc. You really need to get rid of as much of the unwanted grass and viable seeds as possible before going in with the improved bermuda. If you can get things killed out and real well disced you might have a chance to get some tops planted as late as October if you get lucky with late summer moisture. Seems to me that most folks in my area establish Jiggs by planting tops.

 

[bullred]

Thanks TX. Sounds like a plan!

CJ