Demand Grows For Crabgrass Seed

Demand Grows For Crabgrass Seed CROPS Miscellaneous It has been 18 years since FARM SHOW first reported on crabgrass as a forage crop Vol 18 No 2 R L Dalrymple now sells two varieties of the seed Demand continues to grow as more people become familiar with it Dalrymple’s Red River Crabgrass RRCG and Quick-N-Big are different than the low growing weed you find in your lawn The forage varieties grow around 3 ft high spread by stolons that can grow 4 ft long and produce enough seed for volunteer re-establishment It’s one of the highest-quality summer grasses stays green until frost and can continue to be grazed after frost In a two year Florida study the RRCG averaged 15 2 percent protein and 76 8 percent digestibility He notes that his fields had no measureable rain in 7 weeks and more than 40 days with temperatures of 100° or more The weather bureau reports the area has had the least rain since 1921 In a good year he says the crop yields 6 tons of dry matter per acre under intensive management Average returns are closer to two to three tons of dry matter per acre in a pure stand “It can be seeded to a pure stand at a rate of 3 to 6 lbs /acre or used in a mix of summer forages ” he says “It can also be double cropped with winter annual grasses ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Elstel Farm and Seeds 2640 Springdale Rd Ardmore Okla 73401 ph 580 223-8782 or 800 858-7333; rlandpat@cableone net; www redrivercrabgrass com

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.