Thomas G. Chastain Why is lodging important in grass seed crops? Under certain conditions, the tiller cannot support the weight of the developing inflorescence and seed. The tiller lodges or falls to the ground, especially when there are high levels of nitrogen fertilizer and soil moisture present (Fig. 1). Both conditions are common in Oregon’s [...]
Archive for the ‘Grass Seed Crops’ Category
PGRs and lodging control in grass seed crops
Thursday, April 25th, 2013Grass and forage legume seed crop production statistics for 2012
Friday, March 22nd, 2013Bill Young, OSU professor emeritus and extension agronomist in seed production, has recently updated Oregon’s grass and forage legume seed crop production statistics for the 2012 crop year. This report provides a wealth of useful information about quantity of seed produced, crop yields, and economic value of these seed crops in Oregon. Here is a [...]
Spring irrigation of tall fescue for seed production
Tuesday, March 12th, 2013Here’s a new article on spring irrigation of tall fescue seed crops published in Field Crops Research. This work was led by Krista Huettig, a former graduate student and member of my research team. The study reports several important findings and was the first study to demonstrate that spring irrigation increases seed yield in tall [...]
Perennial Ryegrass Seed Price Trends
Thursday, March 7th, 2013Thomas G. Chastain Market conditions as well as the cost of production affect the profitability of grass seed production enterprises. Supply and demand dictate the price of seed. Since seed is an international commodity, the production conditions and seed yields in all regions around the world are important factors affecting seed supply. The size of [...]
Willamette Valley grass seed fields make good wildlife habitat?
Monday, November 12th, 2012According to this story that appeared in a recent edition (November 9th) of the Oregonian newspaper, they do. The streaked horned lark, a bird that is indigenous in the Pacific Northwest, has been proposed for listing as a threatened species under the protections of the Endangered Species Act. Here’s a link to the article: Streaked [...]
Fall irrigation improves crop stands and regrowth but not seed yield in perennial ryegrass and tall fescue seed crops
Thursday, October 4th, 2012Thomas G. Chastain The Willamette Valley has experienced very dry late summer and early fall conditions to date and long-range projections are for more of the same coming in the middle and late parts of fall. How dry has it been? Rainfall for the July through September period has been 0.87 inches at Hyslop Farm [...]