but these stands are better capable of withstanding all the challenges they faced this past year than others. Te Tall Fescue acreage that was planted in the Spring of 2022 does look good due to the favorable spring weather we had last year for establishment.
Te “Silverton Hills” area is where the lion’s share of Fine Fescues are grown. Te older producing acreage looks very challenged. Te 2022 spring planted production looks good at this point.
Te last thing I’ll mention (specifically talking Perennial Rye Grass and Tall Fescue) is this year your ground, irrigation, and age of stand, all created a giant differentiation between stands. Compare that to the 2021 harvest where everything suffered no matter what, versus the 2022 crop where everything was pretty good no matter what.
In quick summary of the Willamette Valley: It seems that more (than what we consider to be normal), new plantings failed, and old fields that were left in through the winter came out this spring.
Turf Merchants, Inc. (TMI) calls its newest cultivar, HellCat GLR Tall Fescue, a “beauty queen” because of its beautiful color and leaf texture. And it is grey leafspot resistant and a TWCA qualified drought-tolerant variety.
labor power, were a few of the limiting factors to getting the fields planted in time for establishment prior to winter.
Fall planted dryland production of Perennial Ryegrass & Tall Fescue: Tese fields have even worse conditions due to very little rainfall pushing back plantings until rain was in the forecast. When fields were seeded, we went from warm and dry to very cool and wet. Plants that were beginning to germinate were not able to achieve proper size to overwinter, and young plants were shocked by temperature swings while in a vulnerable seedling stage.
Older production stands, Perennial Ryegrass & Tall Fescue: Generally poor due to the same aforementioned fall and winter conditions. Older stands are naturally less vigorous and have been through the ringer over the past three to four years with vole pressure, insect damage, and more extreme weather conditions during any given season. Te combination of weather, pests, and (necessary) herbicide applications exponentially affected these older stands.
Second-year Perennial Ryegrass and two-to-five-year-old stands of Tall Fescue appear to be okay. Not barn burners,
Irrigated Kentucky Bluegrass Tese stands look very good to date. New plantings had excellent Fall establishment, and mature fields had irrigation to recover from harvest. Kentucky bluegrass production acres are down from last year, and that trend will continue going into 2024 production. Our farmers’ reported Bluegrass was pollinating the fourth week in May, meaning we should start cutting sometime during the later part of June.
Usage
Many companies in the valley ramped up production during the past two years to meet the “new demand” from the pandemic. Now that our lives are less disrupted, and world travel has once again commenced, we have observed usage has gone back to what we would consider to be typically normal, as have the acreage we ourselves have contract produced. Te interest rate hike for housing in the U.S. is reason for pause as well.
Tis particular year, with our later harvest, carrying inventory might just be the golden ticket for having seed availability for early Fall use.
Who knows what Mother Nature has in store with pollination just beginning? Tis writing could be null and void by the time it goes to press.
TPI Turf News July/August 2023
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