Is Lespedeza bad for cattle?
With low tannin levels, annual lespedeza is non-bloating. Actually, Roberts says that it provides “excellent animal performance,” when cattle are turned out to graze and plant seed heads are present. He notes that historically, cattle producers would graze annual lespedeza seed heads as they believed it caused white fat in the meat.
Is sericea lespedeza good for wildlife?
Sericea lespedeza has been promoted for use in food plots and for cover. Although some wildlife eat sericea foliage or seed, its greatest benefit to wildlife is its ability to provide thermal cover during the summer. However, sericea’s negative attributes overwhelm its few benefits.
Is Lespedeza the 'poor man's alfalfa'?
He notes that historically, cattle producers would graze annual lespedeza seed heads as they believed it caused white fat in the meat. However, the greatest benefit to annual lespedeza, Roberts says, is it grows well in poor soils. “We call it the 'poor man’s alfalfa' because it can grow on a pH 5 soil,” he says.
What is Lespedeza pasture used for?
Lespedeza pasture can be used by all types of livestock but is especially valuable for sheep and cattle backgrounding operations. In a five-year grazing trial near Batesville, Arkansas, yearling cattle gained 1.8 pounds a day on lespedeza.
Can goats eat lespedeza?
Research has shown that sericea lespedeza can be a cost-effective natural dewormer and nutritional feed resource for sheep and goats whether grazed or fed as hay, leaf meal, or pellets.
Will deer eat lespedeza?
Warm-Season Perennial Legumes: Sericea lespedeza, bicolor lespedeza and perennial peanut are browsed by deer but are not normally planted for them.
How do I get rid of lespedeza?
A three-way herbicide is effective when removing lespedeza from lawns with centipede, St. Augustine, zoysia, tall fescue, and Bermuda grasses. It is vital that you always follow the directions when applying any herbicide. Apply herbicides in spring when the grass is starting to turn green.
What is lespedeza good for?
Annual lespedeza is an acid-tolerant, drought-resistant, summer annual legume useful for pasture, hay and soil improvement.
What kills sericea lespedeza?
Very few herbicides for broadleaf weed control have provided good control of sericea lespedeza. Sericea has not been controlled with 2,4-D, and minimal kill has been achieved with a combination of picloram and 2,4-D (Tordon RTUTM or Pathway TM) or dicamba and 2,4,D (WeedmasterTM).
Is lespedeza annual or perennial?
perennialSericea lespedeza is a deep rooted drought tolerant perennial legume that was introduced in the upper south region of the United States from Japan in the late 1890's.
Can horses eat lespedeza?
Horses accept lespedeza well, though some managers have noticed some peculiar eating habits among horses. Some will shake or paw at flakes of lespedeza to encourage leaves to fall off of the stems. Once the leaves are eaten, sometimes only a pile of stems remains.
How does sericea lespedeza spread?
Sericea spreads from root crowns and seeds. Seed dispersal is primarily by birds and animals and by haying infested fields. Herbicide Application Timing Early summer: Begin treatment when Sericea lespedeza is a minimum of 8 inches tall (May to June).
How tall should a lespedeza be?
Roberts says managing annual lespedeza for yield and productivity is related to stubble height. “It has to be grazed to a moderate height,” he says. “Five inches is ideal.”
How much nitrogen does annual lespedeza fix?
Annual lespedeza is a high-quality forage that fixes nitrogen. “No one really knows how much nitrogen,” Roberts says, “but probably 50 pounds to the acre on a pure stand.”
What is annual lespedeza?
Annual lespedeza is a high-quality forage that fixes nitrogen. “No one really knows how much nitrogen,” Roberts says, “but probably 50 pounds to the acre on a pure stand.”. It fills the summer grazing gap, growing in pastures in Missouri from June all the way through September.
When to graze Lespedeza?
While annual lespedeza grows well into October providing fall forage, Roberts says to pay attention when grazing this late. September is the critical time for seed development as plants are flowering. “Be careful not to graze low, particularly from Sept. 1 through Oct. 10,” Roberts warns.
When does Lespedeza produce?
This plant is a high-quality forage that fills the summer grazing gap. It produces from June through October.
What happens when you graze later in the season?
The later in the season you graze, the more damage you can do to next year’s yields.
Is Sericea lespedeza a weed?
SEE THE DIFFERENCE: Sericea lespedeza is considered a noxious weed by many. There is a difference in the leaf structure and plant. It grows taller than annual lespedeza, which stays close to the ground. With low tannin levels, annual lespedeza is non-bloating.
How long do Sericea lespedeza seeds last?
Each stem can drop a thousand seeds and these seeds can remain viable for 20 years or longer. Sericea lespedeza is designated a noxious weed in several Kansas counties.
Why is Sericea lespedeza unpalatable?
Sericea lespedeza has a deep tap root that allows it to outcompete native plants for water and nutrients, especially in times of drought. It also contains tannin that makes it unpalatable, causing livestock to overgraze surrounding native plants, which reduce s biodiversity and competition to further sericea growth.
What is an aminocyclopyrachlor?
Aminocyclopyrachlor (Perspective, Streamline) is a relatively new selective herbicide that provides both foliar control of existing plants as well as pre-emergent activity to control seedlings the following spring with minimal negative effects on cool- or warm-season grasses . Precautions for Using Herbicides.
How long does it take to cure Sericea lespedeza?
It will not be accomplished by a single treatment or practice. Follow-up treatments will be required for up to four to five years, but by year two or three, results should be noticeable and the intensity of the treatments reduced.
What are the options for control of Sericea lespedeza?
Body. Options available for control of sericea lespedeza include prescribed burns, grazing management, and mechanical and chemical methods. There are no biological controls approved for sericea lespedeza at this time other than grazing. + see more - show less.
How tall is Rangeland?
The most effective and economical treatment to date is an herbicide combination of triclopyr and fluroxypyr (PastureGard) which can be applied throughout the growing season once plants are at least 12 inches tall (usually June 1 through September 30).
When to burn Sericea lespedeza?
Late spring burns (May 15 to the end of June) may be effective if a fire will carry through the area at that time. Seed dormancy of sericea lespedeza can be broken by prescribed burning but resulting seedlings may be less viable.
How much Lespedeza can I grow in Missouri?
Missouri farmers ordinarily can produce 1 to 2 tons of lespedeza per acre depending on variations in weather and management. Lespedeza should be harvested for hay no later than early bloom stage. This stage of maturity will produce quality forage and still allow time for the plants to produce seed. Six to 8 inches of growth above the cutter bar will produce at least 1 ton of hay per acre if harvested properly.
What is the difference between Korean lespedeza and Kobe?
Korean lespedeza (Figure 1) has broad, heart-shaped leaflets that are distinctly veined, while common and Ko be leaves are longer and less rounded on the ends. The few small hairs on the stems of the Korean varieties slant upward in contrast to those on common or Kobe.
Why did the Lespedeza acreage in Missouri decline?
Severe summer droughts of 1953 and 1954 were a factor, but the major reason for it decline was changes in fertilizer use and plant disease problems in Korean lespedeza.
What is annual lespedeza?
Annual lespedeza is an acid-tolerant, drought-resistant, summer annual legume useful for pasture, hay and soil improvement. The two species of annual lespedeza grown in Missouri are Kummerowia striata (common) and Kummerowia stipulacea (Korean). Common lespedeza, a striate type, was first reported growing in Georgia in 1846. Because it came from Japan, it was called "Jap clover;" later it became known as common lespedeza. It grew in southern Missouri shortly after the Civil War. Another striate variety, named Kobe, was introduced from Japan in 1919. Kobe grows much larger than common lespedeza, is more erect and produces more hay or pasture. The striate varieties mature later and require a longer growing season than Korean. They are better adapted to the southern part of Missouri and states to the south. The common types also are more tolerant of lower fertility and more acid soils.
How to avoid leaf loss in hay?
To avoid severe leaf loss at hay making, cut, condition and windrow in one operation. A characteristic that aids in the curing of lespedeza is that its small stems contain low amounts of water. Good curing weather may make it possible to cut in the morning and bale in the afternoon of the same day.
How many seeds are in a pound of Lespedeza?
Certified lespedeza seed will be at least 78 percent pure live seed (PLS) and contain about 236,000 seeds per pound.
When to use Korean Lespedeza?
Korean lespedeza in vegetative growth stage. The most common earlier use of lespedeza was in an annual rotation with small grain. The initial seeding of lespedeza would be made into the small grain during late winter or early spring.
Why is it difficult to give grasses a competitive edge with season-long or rotational grazing with?
It is difficult to give grasses a competitive edge with season-long or rotational grazing with fences because cattle will select grasses and forbs and leave sericea plants. This results in the over-utilizes grasses and forbs and allows sericea to increase. Suppression of sericea has been observed when mowing or burning is followed by intensive early stocking (IES) with stocker cattle.
How is Sericea spread?
From these plantings, sericea has been spread by animals and hay into native prairies, shrublands, forests, and introduced pastures. Reliance on single management practices such as grazing, burning, or spraying herbicides does not control sericea lespedeza adequately.
Why is Sericea lespedeza undesirable for cattle?
Forage for Livestock. Sericea lespedeza has high levels of crude protein, but is undesirable forage for cattle because of its high concentrations of tannins. Tan nins bind proteins, leaving them unavailable for digestion. They also reduce the palatability and digestibility of forages.
What is patch burning system?
The Patch Burning System provides many benefits to landowners including increased diversity for quail, white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and other wildlife habitat. The Patch Burning System also has been evaluated for suppression of invasive by plants like sericea lespedeza. This study compared patch burning to the traditional rangeland management of season-long moderate stocking with cattle and prescribed burning the entire pasture periodically for eastern red cedar control. Differences between the burn timing and expanse of prescribed burns in the two treatments can be seen in Figure 4.
Why is Sericea planted?
Sericea was promoted in the past to control soil erosion and provide forage for livestock and wildlife. It has been planted by both federal and state agencies on flood control dams, channelization projects, rights-of-way on highways, county roads, and private roads.
Why burn patches in pasture?
Patch burning improves forage utilization and grazing distribution over time. Burning patches within a pasture encourages cattle and all other herbivores to seek out the newest plant growth which occurs in the most recently burned areas thus maximizing forage quality. Research has shown that stocker cattle spend about 70 percent of their grazing time in the most recently burned patch. With this increased grazing pressure, the entire patch remains heavily grazed throughout the growing season, allowing plants, including sericea, to provide continuous high nutrient quality forage. Cattle gains are similar to traditional management but patch burning adds the advantage of rest for a different portion of the pasture each year. Patch burning is not a one year option and a manager must commit for multiple years to allow the cycle of heavy disturbance followed by rest to proceed over the entire pasture unit.
How tall is a sericea plant?
Mature sericea plants are 18 to 40 inches tall with coarse stems and leaves composed of three spatula-shaped leaflets with squared-off ends (Figure 2).