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Performance of Ryegrass Twenty-seven ryegrass varieties were planted at three locations. At Pontotoc the test was damaged by extreme cold and was only harvested two times. The highest yields were produced by two experimental lines, ME-94 from Wax Seeds and FLX 1996LR from University of Florida, with yields of 4,108 and 3,520 compared to 2,088 pounds per acre for Gulf. The test at Newton was harvested five times and had an average yield of 6,543 pounds per acre. The highest yield was produced by an experimental OFI-A94 from Olsen-Fennel Seed Company followed by NC/FL1966LR from University of Florida with yields of 7,341 and 7,168 compared to 6,082 for Gulf. At Raymond, the highest yields were produced by Hurricane and Abundant with yields of 10,312 and 10,295 pounds per acre compared to 8,885 for Gulf. Table 1. Dry matter yield of ryegrass varieties at the Pontotoc Research and Extension Center, Pontotoc, MS, 1996-97. Variety Dry Matter Yield Harvest Dates   3/17/97 5/16/97 Total Abundant 1730 926 2656 Big Daddy 1234 731 1966 Blizard 1367 771 2138 FLX19964N 2339 947 3286 FLX1996LR 2644 876 3520 Grazer 2614 629 3243 Gulf 1420 669 2088 Hurricane 2702 662 3363 Jackson 2775 636 3411 Marshall 2798 573 3371 ME-94 3267 841 4108 NC/FL1996LR 2505 902 3407 OFI-A94 2278 839 3117 OFI-FL95 2206 785 2991 OFI-PMI 1469 650 2119 Passerel 2708 746 3454 RIO 2484 650 3133 Rustmaster 2645 665 3310 Surrey 2584 684 3268 TAM 90 2016 843 2859 Tetrablend 444 1209 752 1960 TXRFMR-96 1609 778 2387 TXR95-2 2406 706 3113 TXR95-6 2510 734 3244 WVPB-R-3 2112 709 2820 WVPB-90-300 2652 817 3469 WVPB-93-101 2248 886 3133 Mean 2242 756 2998 LSD (0.05) 519 207 613 CV % 16 19 14 Planting date: 10/11/96   Fertilization: 10/10/96 60-30-0 12/03/96 30-0-0 3/22/97 68-0-0 Table 2. Dry matter yield of ryegrass varieties, Coastal Plain Branch, Newton, MS, 1996-97. Variety Dry Matter Yield   Harvest Dates   12/03/96 1/27/97 3/10/97 4/15/97 5/27/97 Total Stand1   -------------------------lb/A------------------------- % Abundant 1097 517 891 1917 1288 5711 97 Big Daddy 1026 650 1065 2434 1463 6637 100 Blizard 1024 635 1116 2192 1470 6437 100 FLX1996G4N 1139 766 1098 2197 1577 6777 98 FLX1996LR 1155 764 1266 2353 1342 6880 100 Grazer 1097 606 1524 1704 1159 6091 97 Gulf 1066 578 1041 2159 1238 6082 97 Hurricane 1044 614 873 2207 1314 6053 98 Jackson 1450 874 1319 2208 1317 7168 98 Marshall 1265 634 993 2683 1447 7022 98 ME-94 1251 622 1075 2406 1473 6827 97 NC/FL1996LR 1168 879 1495 2746 1501 7788 98 OFI-A94 1348 844 1503 2622 1468 7785 97 OFI-FL 95 1298 657 1096 2263 1303 6318 98 OFI-PMI 1050 663 1063 2127 1427 6327 98 Passerel 1244 647 819 2112 1321 6144 98 RIO 1249 679 1141 2093 1432 6595 97 Rust Master 1145 599 963 2221 1151 6079 98 Surrey 1311 837 1465 2255 1472 7341 97 TAM 90 1222 675 871 1836 1124 5727 98 Tetrablend 444 1006 691 1124 2490 1542 6853 98 TXRFMR-96 1149 709 1046 2330 1184 6419 100 TXR95-2 1005 628 1050 2367 1196 6246 97 TXR95-6 1030 651 1219 2212 1263 6375 94 WVPB-R-3 1125 679 876 1873 1080 5634 95 WVBP-90-300 1066 704 1156 2528 1639 7093 100 WVPB-93-101 928 645 909 2021 1440 5943 98 Mean 1147 683 1113 2243 1357 6543 97.9 LSD (0.05) 287 223 417 541 351 1427 4.1 CV % 15 20 23 15 16 13 3 Seeding rate: 35 lb Planting date: 10/03/96 Fertilization: 9/23/96 - Lime @ 1 T/A 10/03/96 - 65-65-65 12/09/96 - 34-0-0   1/30/97 - 34-0-0 3/10/97 - 34-0-0 4/17/97 - 34-0-0 1Date: 11/18/96     Table 3. Dry matter yield of ryegrass varieties, Coastal Plain Branch, Newton, MS, 1993-1997. Variety Dry Matter Yield Year   93-94 94-95 95-96 96-97 Mean   -------------------------------------lb/A----------------------------------------- Florida 80 6542 8348 5453   Gulf 6849 7980 5054 6082 6491 Jackson 7374 9069 6416 7168 7507 Marshall 7391 8106 7930 7022 7612 RIO 7041 8351 6714 6595 7175 Rustmaster 6672 8299 6351 6079 6850 Surrey 6840 8607 6741 7341 7382 TAM 90 7292 8236 5909 5727 6791 Mean 7000 8375 6321 6573 7115 Table 4. Dry matter yield of ryegrass varieties, Brown Loam Branch Station, Raymond, MS, 1996-97. Variety Dry matter yield Harvest Dates   11/21/96 2/19/97 3/11/97 5/7/97 Total Abundant 1315 1904 1000 6093 10312 Big Daddy 1223 1824 954 5128 9133 Blizard 1204 1521 980 5804 9509 FLX1996G4N 1114 1541 1066 5010 8730 FLX1996LR 1118 1703 1020 4718 8559 Grazer 1300 1646 1134 5154 9233 Gulf 1191 1749 1022 4924 8885 Hurricane 1313 1959 1068 5955 10295 Jackson 1337 1906 1024 5417 9684 Marshall 1403 1974 1331 5099 9807 ME-94 1237 1416 1061 4554 8268 NC/FL1996LR 1037 1878 1009 5624 9548 OFI-A94 1372 1508 816 6080 9776 OFI-FL 95 1322 1532 1035 5675 9564 OFI-PMI 1265 1808 1083 5776 9931 Passerel 1114 1655 956 5266 8990 RIO 1427 1324 1051 5329 9130 Rust Master 1269 2355 1193 4909 9726 Surrey 1274 1718 1151 5200 9343 TAM 90 1324 1620 1029 5294 9266 Tetrablend 444 1149 2022 1000 4929 9100 TXRFMR-96 1167 1547 867 5336 8916 TXR95-2 1110 1792 1151 5640 9693 TXR95-6 1149 1593 945 6027 9715 WVPB-R-3 1293 1736 1197 5848 10074 WVBP-90-300 1103 1766 1346 5740 9956 WVPB-93-101 1114 1265 1153 5600 9133 Mean 1231 1713 1061 5412 9418 LSD (0.05) NS NS NS NS NS CV % 21 26 24 15 12 Planting date: 10/4/96   Fertilization: 60-60-0 10/1/96 68-0-0 2/20/97 60-60-60 4/3/97 Table 5. Dry matter yield of ryegrass varieties, Brown Loam Branch, Raymond, MS, 1993-1997. Variety Dry Matter Yield Year   93-94 94-95 95-96 96-97 Mean   -----------------------------lb/A----------------------------- Florida 80 6425 9044 7678   Gulf 6482 8724 7175 8885 7807 Jackson 7142 9158 6195 9684 8045 Marshall 6776 9017 7243 9807 8211 RIO 7032 9505 7530 9130 8299 Rustmaster 6805 8907 7150 9726 8147 Surrey 6451 9825 6605 9343 8056 TAM 90 6889 9014 7844 9266 8253 Mean 6750 9149 7178 9406 8117 Performance of Fescue Sixteen varieties of tall fescue were evaluated at Prairie and no variety produced significantly more than fungus-infected Kentucky 31 (Table 6). There were only small differences in total yield when averaged over six years. At Mississippi State, there were significant differences in total yield among 20 varieties evaluated, but no variety produced significantly more than the endophyte-infected Kentucky 31 variety (Table 7). Table 6. Dry matter yield of tall fescue varieties, Prairie Research Unit, Prairie, MS, 1996-1997. Variety Dry Matter Yield Harvest Dates Total 6-year average 9/25/96 12/9/96 4/8/97 5/6/97   ------------------------------lb/A------------------------------ Alta 2224 465 2351 629 5671 4489 AU Triumph1 2193 366 1239 631 4430 3722 Desoto 1903 388 1312 533 4136 3687 Enforcer 2505 397 1262 683 4848 4164 Fawn 2446 597 1271 560 4875 4019 Forage Blend3 2470 433 2454 653 6011   Jesup (EI)1 2433 404 1666 663 5168 4314 Kentucky 31 EF2 2243 384 1691 481 4800 4108 Kentucky 31 EI 2593 405 2141 573 5713 4503 Martin 2280 406 1415 623 4724 3996 OFI-TF-B1 2020 399 1302 473 4195 3773 OFI-TF-B15 1990 292 1278 462 4022 3706 Penngrazer1 2733 314 1131 537 4715 3879 TF 8872 2048 307 1168 535 4060 3491 TF 9077 2397 517 1722 611 5248 4511 Mean 2313 416 1538 578 4847 4036 LSD (0.05) 552 228 419 181 903   CV % 17 38 19 22 13   Seeding rate: 25 lb/A   Planting date: 10/21/91   3Planting date: 9/21/92   Fertilization: 120-0-0   1Endophyte Fungus-Infected 2Endophyte Fungus-Free Table 7. Dry matter yield of tall fescue varieties at Mississippi State, MS, 1996-97. Variety Dry Matter Yield   Harvest Dates   7-year average Stand 4/15/97 12/2/96 3/24/97 4/15/97 5/21/97> Total   ------------------------------lb/A------------------------------ AU Triumph 571 567 536 407 2080 3176 76 Cajun 543 494 563 420 2019 3373 78 Desoto 581 431 591 456 2049 3251 87 Enforcer 619 323 385 518 1845 3211 89 Fawn 563 573 591 426 2153 3131 83 Forager 582 584 616 420 2198 3219 89 Jesup (El)1 875 391 488 393 2147 3358 93 GA 5 EI 661 425 467 387 1941 3251 94 GA 110 EF2 753 465 584 479 2281 3371 95 GA 196 EF 793 442 481 380 2097 3120 91 Johnstone 883 369 371 413 2036 3065 92 Kentucky 31 EI 810 335 460 538 2143 3526 93 Kentucky 31 EF 727 397 453 420 1997 3308 91 Martin 511 516 570 380 1977 3396 81 OFI-TF-B15 556 300 433 538 1827 3076 83 Penngrazer 742 414 563 492 2211 3335 95 TF 8872 598 596 611 479 2284 3215 88 TF 9077 812 533 577 479 2401 3275 92 Mean 678 450 514 436 2078 3241 88 LSD (0.05) 286 106 91 70 460 344 10 CV % 30 17 13 11 16 8 8 Planting date: 10/17/90   Fertilization: 65/65/65 9/23/96   51/0/60 3/11/97 Herbicide: 1.5pt/A Weedmaster 3/12/97   1Endophyte Fungus-Infected 2Endophyte Fungus-Free   Performance of Cool Season Perennial Grasses A study was established in 1996 to evaluate selected varieties of four species of cool season perennial grasses. Fescue is considered to be the best adapted cool season perennial grass for Mississippi. Earlier varieties of orchard grass have not been persistent under Mississippi conditions. Little is known about tall oat grass. Prairie brome is being promoted as being a perennial, but under Mississippi environmental conditions, it will respond as a reseeding annual. The test at Prairie was harvested two times and highest yields were produced by the brome grasses, but no variety produced significantly more than Kentucky fescue (Table 8). At Mississippi State, Stocker and Matua brome produced the highest yields (Table 9). In a similar study at Mississippi State, planted in 1994, the fescues showed their persistence by producing more than other species. The highest yielding fescue was Georgia 5 with 2,805 pounds per acre (Table 10). At Newton, the test was harvested two times and highest yields were produced by the brome grasses, with Muta being the highest producer, with 3,902 pounds of forage (Table 11). At Raymond, the highest yields were produced by the brome grasses, and there was no significant difference in the yields. The fescues were not harvested in the test at Raymond. At Poplarville, the brome grasses were harvested three times and the others two times, indicating the early vigor of the brome. The highest yielding Bromes were Matua and Stocker with 2,964 and 2,816 pounds per acre (Table 13). Table 8. Dry matter yield of cool season perennial grasses, Prairie Research Unit, Prairie, MS, 1997. Item Dry Matter Yield Harvest Dates   4/8/97 5/6/97 Total   ------------------------------lb/A------------------------------ Tall Fescue Bull 754 476 1230 CAFA 401 885 520 1405 Georgia 5 800 476 1276 Jesup (EF) 862 650 1512 Kentucky 31 920 480 1400 PRO-B6 800 497 1297 WVPB TF B-3 513 474 987 WVPB TF B-5 315 270 585 WVPB TF B-16 681 504 1185 Orchardgrass MoTol 85II 894 575 1469 9007238 876 526 1402 Tall Oat Grass 564692 533 420 953 Prairie Brome Stocker 964 751 1715 Muta 790 708 1498 Gala 780 745 1450 Mean 757 527 1282 LSD (0.05) 342 301 645 CV % 31 37 30 Seeding rate: Tall fescue 20 lb/A Orchardgrass 15 lb/A   Tall oat grass 8 lb/A Prairie Brome 25 lb/A Planting date: 10/8/96 Fertilization: 120-0-0 Table 9. Dry matter yield of cool season perennial grasses at Mississippi State, MS, 1996-97. Variety Dry Matter Yield Harvest Dates Total 4/25/97 5/30/97   ------------------------------lb/A------------------------------ Tall Fescue Bull 317 328 645 CAFA 401 476 508 984 Desoto 343 323 666 Georgia 5 348 406 754 Jesup (EF) 348 471 819 Kentucky 31 341 502 844 Pro B6 253 359 612 WVPB TF B-3 213 276 488 WVPB TF B-5 114 116 230 WVPB TF B-16 283 346 629 Orchardgrass MoTol 85II 366 465 831 9007238 399 485 884 Tall Oat Grass 564692 242 477 719 Prairie Brome Stocker 881 899 1780 Matua 920 882 1802 Gala 187 688 876 Mean 378 473 851 LSD (0.05) 117 165 256 CV % 21 24 21 Planted: 10-21-96 Fertilizer: 50-0-60 on 3-11-97 34-0-0 on 4-30-97 Herbicide 1.5 pt/A Weedmaster on 3-12-97 Table 10. Dry matter yield of cool season grasses at Mississippi State, MS, 1996-97. Variety Dry Matter Yield Harvest Dates Total 3-year average 12/10/96 3/25/97 4/15/97 5/30/97   ------------------------------lb/A----------------------------- Tall Fescue Desoto1 57 386 522 698 2183 12743 Festorina 1048 370 420 593 2431 2732 Forage Blend 932 515 593 527 2567 2933 Fuego 894 378 435 632 2339 2915 Georgia 5 1265 439 574 527 2805 3307 Ky-31 FI 1047 396 496 606 2543 3300 Penngrazer 1089 384 499 566 2538 2960 Ky Bluegrass Huntsville 670 133 142 303 1247 1009 Prairie Brome Matua2 119 321 407 446 1293 2787 Mean 848 368 454 544 2216 2533 LSD (0.05) 252 81 106 120 340 537 CV % 20 15 16 15 11 15 Planting date: 9/22/94 Fertilizer: 65-65-65 - 9/23/96   50-0-60 - 3/11/97 Herbicide: 1.5 pt/A Weedmaster on 3/12/97 1planted Desoto 10-2-95 2allowed to reseed each summer 32 year average Table 11. Dry matter yield of cool season perennial grasses, Coastal Plain Branch, Newton, MS, 1996-97 Variety Dry Matter Yield Harvest Dates Total Average % crop 4/08/97 % crop1 5/27/97 % crop   ------------------------------lb/A------------------------------ Tall Fescue Bull 964 85 1174 96 2137 91 CAFA 401 1024 85 1259 95 2283 90 Georgia 5 1291 87 1324 92 2615 90 Jesup (EF) 885 83 1466 90 2351 87 Kentucky 31 1088 87 1183 92 2271 90 PRO-B6 1669 80 1456 78 3124 79 WVPBTFB-3 1018 72 1445 87 2463 80 WVPBTFB-5 696 70 1091 77 1787 74 WVPBTFB-16 1752 47 1315 63 3068 55 Orchardgrass MoTol 85II 1097 70 1286 94 2383 82 9007238 778 82 1401 96 2179 89 Tall Oat Grass 564692 1129 63 1559 80 2688 72 Prairie Brome Stocker 1778 92 1686 77 3463 84 Muta 2208 93 1695 83 3902 89 Gala 1189 80 1445 70 2634 75 Mean 1216 73 1387 79 2603   LSD (0.05) 685 21 414 26 905   CV % 34 17 18 20 21   1% crop - the part of the harvest that was the planted crop Planting date: 10/08/96 Fertilization: 10/08/96 - Lime @ 2 T/A 11/12/96 - 65-65-65 1/30/97 - 34-0-0   3/10/97 - 34-0-0 4/17/97 - 34-0-0 Table 12. Dry matter yield of cool season perennial grasses, Brown Loam Branch Station, Raymond, MS, 1996-97. Variety Dry Matter Yield Harvest Dates Total 2/19/97 3/11/97 5/7/97   ------------------------------lb/A------------------------------ Orchardgrass MoTol 85II 534 724 3076 4333 9007238 423 656 3356 4435 Tall Oat Grass 564692 391 619 3006 4015 Prairie Brome Stocker 1795 791 4222 6808 Muta 1894 1173 3893 6959 Gala 734 732 3863 5331 Mean 962 783 3569 5314 LSD (0.05) 287 337 NS 1806 CV % 16 24 26 19 Planting date: 10/8/96 Fertilization: 60-60-0 10/1/96 68-0-0 2/20/97 60-60-60 4/3/97 Table 13. Yield of cool season perennial grasses, South Mississippi Branch, Poplarville, MS, 1996-97. Variety Dry Matter Yield Harvest Dates Total 3/4/97 4/1/97 4/29/97   ------------------------------lb/A------------------------------ Tall Fescue Bull 0 1291 329 1620 CAFA 401 0 1215 282 1497 Georgia 5 0 1571 369 1940 Jesup (EF) 0 646 188 834 KY 31 0 1198 274 1472 PRO-B6 0 1206 243 1449 WVPB TF B-3 0 518 188 706 WVPB TF B-5 0 518 188 706 WVPB TF B-16 0 1240 337 1577 Orchardgrass MoTol 85II 0 544 235 779 9007238 0 756 212 968 Tall Oat Grass 564692 0 994 251 1245 Prairie Brome Stocker 1433 1053 329 2816 Matua 1756 926 282 2964 Gala 864 629 306 1799 Mean 253 909 250 1413 LSD (0.05) NS NS NS 511 CV % 27 33 27 25 Planted: 9/16/96 Fertilization: 9/16/96 68-72-72 2/5/97 68-N   Performance of Clovers White Clovers were evaluated in two tests at Mississippi State. The highest yield of 11 varieties planted in fall of 1994 was produced by Osceola (Table 14). The highest yields produced by varieties planted in fall of 1995 were produced by an experimental line, T2 and Regal with yields of 6,392 and 5,866 pounds per acre (Table 15). Table 14. Dry matter yield of white clover varieties at Mississippi State, MS, 1996. Variety Dry Matter Yield Harvest Dates Total 7/25/96 8/26/96   ------------------------------lb/A------------------------------ Brown Loam Syn. #2 564 1596 2160 California Ladino 933 1259 2192 Canopy 878 1235 2113 CW 190 (BL#2 selection) 803 1084 1887 CW 191 913 1353 2266 Louisiana S-1 1223 1230 2453 MSNR4 908 1084 1992 Osceola 1160 1346 2506 Regal 1019 1219 2238 RS C3-27 947 1210 2157 SRVR 532 1473 2005 Mean 898 1281 2179 LSD (0.05) 403 228 452 CV % 31 12 14 Seeding rate: 3 lb/A Planting date: 9/15/94 Table 15. Dry matter yield of white clover varieties at Mississippi State, MS, 1996-97. Variety Dry Matter Yield Harvest Dates Total 7/17/96 8/21/96 5/5/97 6/3/97   ------------------------------lb/A------------------------------ Brown Loam Syn. #2 630 1195 2258 1534 5617 California Ladino 724 810 1996 1336 4866 Canopy 598 1110 2152 1683 5543 CW 190 (BL#2 selection) 577 1033 2226 1457 5293 CW 983 707 1079 1969 1609 5364 DT population 541 981 2240 1445 5207 Louisiana S-1 276 710 1767 981 3734 Osceola 566 947 2252 1498 5263 OZ population 472 898 1721 1422 4513 PP population 604 983 1886 1338 4811 Regal 615 1170 2585 1496 5866 RS C3-27 612 1008 2214 1484 5318 SRVR 615 1090 2089 1491 5285 T2 721 1368 2704 1599 6392 Tillman 704 974 2710 1756 6144 Will 603 953 2465 1742 5763 Mean 598 1019 2202 1492 5311 LSD (0.05) 160 242 569 354 857 CV % 19 17 18 17 11 Seeding rate: 3 lb/A Planting date: 9/12/95   Performance of Alfalfa Twenty varieties of alfalfa planted in 1991 were evaluated at Poplarville, and highest yields were produced by Vector and Alfagraze, with yields of 5,874 and 5,162 pounds per acre. Alfagraze also had one of the best cover ratings, indicating that a good stand was maintained after five years. Table 16. Effect of variety on dry matter yield of alfalfa, South Mississippi Branch, Poplarville, MS, 1996. Variety Dry Matter Yield Cover1 Harvest Dates Total 4/18 5/24 6/17 7/28 8/26   ------------------------------lb/A------------------------------   Alfagraze 1267 1017 945 1186 747 5162 7.5 Apollo 1190 968 889 1064 681 4792 6.0 Apollo Supreme 928 792 718 975 558 3972 7.0 Asset 950 851 832 1041 539 4214 5.5 Cimarron 1157 831 992 1081 803 4865 7.2 Cimarron VR 971 733 700 953 520 3878 4.8 Crochett 775 753 766 1003 577 3874 5.5 DS 952 764 812 766 1070 831 4243 7.5 DS 957 928 900 889 1130 747 4594 7.2 Florida 77 994 919 955 1219 860 4947 7.5 Haymark 743 724 652 964 520 3603 5.0 NK 88780 1037 919 832 1042 756 4587 5.8 Pioneer 5472 1212 890 936 1252 822 5113 6.3 Pioneer 5373 1135 890 936 1125 747 4834 6.8 Terminator 950 773 747 1031 652 4153 5.0 Vector 2282 909 889 1192 652 5874 5.6 VS 754 819 812 775 1070 662 4137 6.0 Wampr 961 802 870 1036 633 4302 5.3 WL 320 983 958 955 1042 841 4779 7.0 WL 83T27 906 890 936 1142 794 4668 5.8 Mean 1048 857 849 1078 697 4530 6.2 LSD (0.05 NS NS NS NS 217 1107 NS CV % 54 16 18 13 21 17 26 Planted: 1991 Fertilization: 0-96-96   2 lb Boron 1canopy cover estimated on a 1-10 scale where 1=10% and 10=100% cover, 8/20/96. Table 17. Dry matter yield of bermudagrass varieties at the Pontotoc Research and Extension Center, Pontotoc, MS, 1996. Variety Dry Matter Yield Harvest Dates Total 3-year average 6/7/96 7/30/96 9/10/96   ------------------------------lb/A------------------------------ Alicia 1043 2050 2463 5556 7488 Coastal 1818 2048 2885 6752 7896 Common 1334 1745 2035 5114 7447 Grazer 1367 1406 1868 4641 6056 HS Common 1246 1457 1799 4503 6613 Lancaster 1257 935 1493 3686 6102 Murphy 2131 1817 2512 6461 7523 Murphy 2 1216 1150 2083 4449 6237 Tifton 44 1612 1751 2813 6177 7536 Tifton 78 1395 1851 2538 5784 7669 Tifton 78WH 1465 1986 2422 5872 7750 Tifton 85 1155 2182 2262 5599 8110 Mean 1420 1698 2264 5383 7202 LSD (0.05) 637 513 698 1382   CV % 31 21 21 18   Sprigged: 5/23/93 Fertilization: 5/10/96 60-60-60 7/02/96 68-0-0 8/02/96 68-0-0 Table 18. Dry matter yield of bermudagrass varieties at Prairie Research Unit, Prairie, MS, 1996. Variety Dry Matter Yield Harvest Dates Total 6/17/96 7/10/96 8/8/96 9/24/96   ------------------------------lb/A------------------------------ Alicia 721 1108 1618 1830 5279 Coastal 1848 1276 1840 1920 6886 Common 556 1430 1913 1713 5597 Grazer 813 1274 1732 1393 5213 Hardie 639 1697 1771 1800 5907 Lancaster 562 1253 1478 1439 4733 Murphy 1075 1495 1687 1571 5829 Poplarville 730 1549 1846 1682 5807 Prairie I 866 1572 2102 1266 5827 Prairie II 992 1733 1462 1501 5254 Prairie III 769 1410 2144 1447 5774 Russell 856 1375 1542 1788 5563 Tifton 44 1796 1606 2325 1673 7402 Tifton 78 572 983 1858 1658 5072 Tifton 78WH 740 1464 1588 1659 5452 Tifton 85 1366 1282 1815 1944 6408 Mean 932 1406 1795 1643 5750 LSD (0.05) 579 428 425 386 1119 CV % 44 21 17 17 14 Table 19. Ground cover of bermudagrass varieties, Prairie Research Unit, Prairie, MS, 1996. Variety Ground Cover1 April 18 June 27 August 5   ------------------------------%------------------------------ Alicia 3 80 79 Coastal 38 88 99 Common 7 89 79 Frazer 48 97 99 Hardie 20 97 98 Lancaster 65 97 99 Murphy 75 100 99 Poplarville 40 99 100 Prairie I 42 98 100 Prairie II 32 98 100 Prairie III 45 99 100 Russell 19 97 100 Tifton 44 53 92 79 Tifton 78 WH 4 70 91 Tifton 78 6 71 86 Tifton 85 7 71 86 LSD (0.05) 16 12 19 1Visual estimations were made to determine winter hardiness. A higher percentage ground cover, particularly at the April 18 evaluation, would indicate less winter-kill.

Table 20. Dry matter yield of bermudagrass varieties at the Animal Research Center, Mississippi State University, MS, 1996.
Variety	Dry matter yield1				Bermudagrass yield2					Winter damage 4-11-96
	Harvest Dates			Total	Harvest Dates			Total	3-year average
	5-24	6-21	7-26		5-24	6-21	7-26
	------------------------------lb/A------------------------------									Rating5
Alicia	1206	972	1426	3604	1126	913	1252	3290	6206	5.3
Coastal	1161	918	1546	3625	1131	913	1472	3516	6242	7.3
Common	114	1307	1683	3104	18	584	182	784	3063	3.5
Grazer	60	1175	1346	2581	27	884	883	1793	4086	7.5
Lancaster	145	840	1098	2083	116	650	667	1433	4030	7.8
Murphy	818	1035	1242	3094	746	902	752	2400	4789	7.5
Russell3	834	1167	1314	3314	795	1109	1129	3033	33784	6.0
Tifton 44	1560	957	1474	3991	1525	931	1294	3751	6483	7.8
Tifton 78	719	988	1586	3293	587	754	704	2045	5397	3.5
Tifton 78WH	584	1276	1498	3358	488	905	719	2111	5052	3.8
Tifton 85	563	1167	1578	3281	400	914	723	2037	4218	5.3
Mean	703	1073	1436	3212	633	860	889	2381	4582	5.4
LSD (0.05)	542	463	239	736	522	444	339	881	840	1.6
CV %	53	30	12	16	57	36	26	26	13	21

Established:	6/07/93
Fertilizer:	4/3/96	65-65-65	6/26/96	50-0-0	8/9/96	40-120-120
Herbicide:	none
Insecticide	Methyl Parathion at 1.25 lb ai/A
1Dry matter yield = all forage from plot
2Bermudagrass yield = a visual estimate of weeds and other grasses subtracted from total yield
3Planted Russell on 4/27/96
42 year average
5Rating 1=growth from mother plant only, 10=10% cover