Why Bahai Grass Takes Over Bermuda

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ga. prime

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Here's two reasons: (1) It greens up and starts growing 2-3 weeks earlier in the Spring. (2)We had a light frost here last night and the bermuda is cooked. Bahai still green as a gourd.
 
Another reason is that Bahaia can stand a lower PH. And it will also survive with less potash.
Many a stand of good Bermuda has been lost to Bahaia due to lack of lime and potash. If Bermuda is managed right it will take over Bahaia.
 
Check out the root system sometimes on bahia grass. It looks like someone buried a heavy duty fishing net just underneath the ground. They are sometimes as big as a pencil and laced together. awesome.
 
Angus/Brangus":3fn61xwq said:
It's because your soil conditions probably stink making it ripe for Bahia and not so good for Bermuda, In My Most Humble Opinion :D
Your most humble opinion is not an opinion but rather a guess. Either way it doesn't change the validity of what I stated in my first post.:lol2:
 
Bahia will also grow longer into the fall as well. Bahia reminds me of that little Energizer Rabbit that just keeps going and going. I really respect it.
 
It's just hard to beat Ma Nature you are wanting a hybred to compete with a native grass.
For me I figured out a long time ago it was cheaper to embrace it.
 
you guys are right that bermuda likes a higher PH, but abother question to ask is how did the bahia get into the bermuda?
Nature or man made introduction?
Were they planted side by side or did your baler or mower bring them in because they were not clean? I always clean my equipment when going into different fields, this I think really helps in weed control also. If you go bale your neighbors weed/hay field for him you better clean that equipment off before you bring it home or you are just creating problems for yourself. ;-)
 
I don't know where it gets to all the places you find it. Had a spot come up in my back yard one time and I lived in a subdivision. You can drive thru a field of it and have 3 pounds of seed on your front bumper. Buy one cow that's been grazing bahia and she immediately starts planting it on your place. The stuff is just a survivor. If you ever baled a field of bahia I don't know if you would ever get all the seed out of your equipment. Probably end up with a few in your pockets as well and not a clue how it got there. :nod:
 
I just gave $95 per 50# for what ya'll are trying to get rid of.Go figure.I love the stuff.Slow establishment could be my only complaint.Bahia is not a native anywhere in the U.S. although the way it just pops up in places you would think it was.At some point some s.o.b. brought it here.
 
Properly cared for Bermuda has a much better root system than Bahia. I've seen bermuda roots to be as deep as 4-6 feet.

But the problem is that fast and lush top growth in grass is always gained at the expense of the roots.

Those that have a good plot of Bermuda tend to try and get maximum hay production at the expense of those roots by pouring the nitrogen to it.

Potash is a root building fertilizer. Bermuda that is pushed hard needs lots of it.

It's true about PH also, Bermuda requires a dang near neutral soil where Bahia will take more acidity.

Not much of a comparison to Bahia and Hybrid Bermuda hay as far as analysis goes either, the bahia is always high in ADF.

The advantage that Bahia has over Hybrid Bermuda is that the seed are viable and will reproduce from them..

It's poor feed though.
 
Angus/Brangus":3e7kzrw6 said:
MikeC":3e7kzrw6 said:
It's poor feed though.

MikeC, I have read the same material, although it might be approaching the time to re-think, in liu of increased fertilizer costs spent on keeping the Bermuda going. That or an adjusted business plan! I went ahead and fertilized my 12 acres of Jiggs at $578 for nitrogen. But one has to start thinking now about alternatives.

There are a lot of cows in the south raised on bahia pasture and hay, it doesn't yield as good as coastal that is a fact, it is cheaper to maintain. There are cows that function great on it, poor man's coastal. It really doesn't matter if it is coastal or bahia it is all about what produces the most pounds of feed with the least input cost in your area. I have tried about every kind of grass that grows in this area and the bahia wins wheather I want it to or not, as I said before I learned to embrace it.
 
A/B I agree and disagree, the best field of bahia will not produce the pounds or quality to the best field of coastal. This is a regional thing to get coastal to produce as well as bahia here is cost prohibitive here. Move 50 miles west and coastal outperforms the bahia. This is a subject that no one size fits all, this is about raising the most pounds of feed with the least input cost. IMO to many cattlemen get hung chasing the best grass at any cost. Currently I have a test plot of Red River crab grass as it yields are supposed to be higher than coastal or bahia with very low input cost so far, the stand I planted is in its second year jury is still out, it is supposed to be invasive we will see.
 
Man I really have a pet peeve when it comes to Bahia..... it is so tough on the cutter.

That stuff comes up from root as well as seed. If you ever drive into a pasture that is headed out and then drive somewhere else where it's not growing, you will have it in a matter of a year. Stuff is a booger to get rid of. Even if you fertilize and lime appropriately, it still takes over coastal. Just wait on a little dry weather and it will choke out coastal in a hurry.
 
Just possibly producers should learn to live with it. Fescue sure wouldn;t be my first choice for pasture. I wanted to eliminate it all when we first started running cows back here. In spite of it's drawbacks I've learned to accept (not like) it. But the stuff is resilient and persists in the face of drought, flood, herbicides, over grazing, neglect and abuse
 
There's a lot easier and less costly ways of eliminating (however temporarily) bahai than by drowning it in fertilizer and limestone, if that is your aim.(1) Harrow during a drought. Kills scads of it. Bermuda says "Do that to me one more time, I can never get enough". (2) Turn the whole pasture over with a moldboard plow. Bahai is out for the count. Bermuda says "Now, that's what I'm talking about". I won't even go into the cheap herbicides that will kill bahai exclusively. Personally, I don't like bahai in my hayfield. Like Mike C said, makes poor hay.. But like CB says, for every day grazing, it's best to embrace and let the strongest survive.
 
Caustic,I ve wanted to try the RR Crabgrass but I'm a little leery.I know they sat it will reseed itself but technicaly isnt it an annual.Do you have to reseed it some every year.That seed is higher than camel #$%^.Does it totally disappear in the winter?If so what did you plant over it?Also my ph tends to be a little low(another reason I like bahia)usally between 5.5 and 6.How would it do?Ive got a new clearing ready to go and was gonna stick with bahia and run BT Millet as a nurse crop but the way I've seen regular crabgrass grow around here ,I'm intrigued by the thought of this Red River.
 
jj216":2bsgrue4 said:
Caustic,I ve wanted to try the RR Crabgrass but I'm a little leery.I know they sat it will reseed itself but technicaly isnt it an annual.Do you have to reseed it some every year.That seed is higher than camel #$%^.Does it totally disappear in the winter?If so what did you plant over it?Also my ph tends to be a little low(another reason I like bahia)usally between 5.5 and 6.How would it do?Ive got a new clearing ready to go and was gonna stick with bahia and run BT Millet as a nurse crop but the way I've seen regular crabgrass grow around here ,I'm intrigued by the thought of this Red River.

It died back like the bahia in the winter it is coming up this spring, how thick of stand is anybodies guess.
I just planted it last year and it did really well, I planted it with common bermuda on a 4 or 5 acre test plot.
It didn't get a lot of grazing pressure last year as well.
 
No matter what the grass, with today's costs, one needs to calculate the establishment costs and how many years it will take to recoup the cost. The gain is only the difference between what you plant and what you already have.
 
I try to find a balance between growth and consistancy in my forages. I like bahia for grazing cause it gives me a lot longer grazing period than bermudas (8 months versus 5) especially the older stands that have built up seed reserves of winter annuals like ryegrass. Granted, these bahia fields make for some pretty poor hay and will dull the stew out of your cutter blades but the input costs are minimal. I have also made the decision not to cut bahia anymore as I think the yield/quality versus the nutrient removal is not in my best interest. I try to view the attributes of each grass as to how it benefits my operation and I only wish I could find something that can cheaply produce forage for those other 4 months.
 

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