extended timing can carry over to a wide maturity window and decrease the final yield because the grower must choose how much early seed to lose from shatter, and how much seed to forego because the crop has to be harvested before all of it matures. Some fields still show the effects of drought over the last couple of years. Weak areas are often exploited by weed species—especially rattail fescue.
Tis photo of a DLF USA Perennial Ryegrass production field in Northern Minnesota was taken during the second week of May 2024.
Perennial ryegrass: Most of the Pacific Northwest perennial ryegrass fields look very good. Plant growth and stand health are great, but growers are fighting hard to keep ahead of Poa annua, annual ryegrass, roughstalk bluegrass, and other annual weeds.
In Minnesota, growers are still evaluating fields and deciding what to keep in for harvest. Fields have fared better than feared after very cold temperatures in February on a crop left bare by early melting snow. Damage was not nearly as widespread as expected and it looks like acres harvested will be down only around 15 percent below what was planted. Many fields are worth pursuing, but now have large bare spots and growers are being encouraged to aggressively manage those areas to keep summer weeds from establishing.
Canadian growers are anxiously anticipating the arrival of warm temperatures to allow some spring growth to start so fields can be evaluated. Te same weather pattern that caused damage in Minnesota affected the ryegrass growing areas of western Canada. It’s expected that most fields will have some level of damage with some severe enough that growers will opt to remove them before harvest.
Tall Fescue: Early maturing varieties of tall fescue are heading out in mid-May and most fields look very good. Weed pressure is high, however. Dryland fields planted last spring received very little rain and plants stayed very small through the summer and into fall. As a result, most growers scaled back their fall herbicide regimen and the fields show it now. Tere are reports of Poa annua being present under the plant canopy in some fields.
Fine Fescue: Oregon fields began heading during the warm weather in early April. Heading slowed dramatically when cold weather returned. Tis led to reports of many fields looking ragged for the last few weeks. It’s expected that the return of warm weather will help to even them out. Still, this
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Creeping Bentgrass: Bentgrass crop growth has been good, and conditions have also been great for weed species. Growers are spending even more money than usual on hand labor as they try to stay ahead of later-than-normal weed (Poa annua) flushes. Some new fields planted last fall have been sprayed so aggressively in hopes of gaining a clean stand for the 2025 harvest that they will not produce a seed crop this year.
Kentucky Bluegrass: All areas of Kentucky bluegrass production report that acres are down sharply from the last couple of years. Areas that produce proprietary varieties report crops that look average to good and expect average yields. Acres of common production—largely dryland—are weedier than normal, thanks to stands weakened from drought last fall and/or damaging field burns.
Bermudagrass: Southern California seed production is on target for normal crop yields and harvest dates. Recent field inspections of the common Bermudagrass fields reveal that approximately half of the 2024 crop has some level of Giant Bermudagrass infestation. Plans are in motion to review current stands and plant new seed fields with the goal of reducing Giant Bermudagrass contamination. Seed cleaners expect to meet fall/winter sales needs.
GO Seed Provided by Jerry Hall, President
Good seed development is exhibited by GO Seed’s Cloud Elite Bluegrass.
TPI Turf News July/August 2024
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