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Factsheet: Pasture Establishment in the U.S. Virgin Islands y Elide Valencia, Research Assistant Professor of Agronomy, UVI and Gerard D'Souza, Professor of Agriculture and Resources Economics, WVU A publication of the University of the Virgin Islands Agricultural Experiment Station January, 2002 INTRODUCTION Establishment of a high-quality, uniform stand of pasture in a short period of time is important to the success of a livestock operation. Failure to obtain a good stand means not only the loss of investment but also of the use of the land for a year or even longer. If initially a sparse stand devel- ops, most grasses have the ability to fill in the bare spots and eventually cover the ground, especially if the new planting is on virgin land. However, this still means a loss of time and use, and usually more problems with weeds. If a sparse stand of the new grass develops when planted on an old pasture contaminated with an aggressive weedy grass, such as hurricane grass (Boithrocloa pertusa), the ability of the new improved grass to provide complete ground cover decreases. The primary purpose of this factsheet is to describe some of the planting methods used in the Caribbean. However, several re- quirements must be met in order to successfully establish a pasture. These will be discussed only briefly. CHOOSING AN ADAPTED FORAGE Many different grasses, le- gumes, and combinations are used for pastures in the Carib- bean. The producer must choose Panicum maximum Jacq. cv. Mombasa is adapted to mildly alkaline soils. those adapted to the soil and climatic conditions at his/her location. Choosing the wrong pasture plants for a particular site can be very costly. A producer usually selects a base perennial pasture grass first, and then adds legumes (to fix nitro- gen) to improve pasture quality. LAND PREPARATION A producer may want to develop an improved pasture on native, or undeveloped land, or he/ she may have an old pasture that needs to be renovated by planting a new improved grass. Several types of machines and methods are available to clear and prepare undeveloped land for planting of pastures. These can range from very large and expensive tree- clearing equipment (c.g., bulldoz- ers) to ploughing with tractors and disk harrows used for final seed- bed preparation. If the land is to be used only for grazing, some stumps and roots new grass. If a weedy grass is present in the nursery, it will be spread along with the new im- proved grass, thus contaminating all of the new pastures. The planting material can be broadcast on the soil surface by hand or with the help of machines. A. “grass planter” has been used for many years in Florida and elsehwere. This machine uses a spinner or fan mechanism to throw and scatter the planting material. It is pulled behind a flatbed truck or trailer that is loaded with the planting material usually in 50-lb rectangular bales. A tractor and four helpers are needed to distrib- ute the planting material. One moves bales to the back of the trailer, two lift bales onto the planter and cut the strings (bind- ings), and two — one on either side of the planter — feed or drop pieces of the bales on to the spinner. Once the planting material is on the ground, it immediately should be covered or pressed into the soil. For this purpose, a disk harrow with the blades set fairly straight can be used, or a fairway- type roller that has the flanges with blunt edges can be used to push the planting material into the soil. This tool works well on moist sand. The soil should then be firmed around the planting material by pulling a cultipacker or heavy land roller over the land at least twice to create an extra firm seedbed. The land rollers are usually filled with water to give them added weight. A pre-emergent herbicide can be applied the same day as planting. Some producers use 2,4- D (2 lb/acre), a common phenoxy herbicide, as a pre-emergent herbi- cide. A post-emergent application of herbicide can be applied 3 to 4 weeks after planting to control any broadleaf weeds that develop. Certain postemerge herbicides such as Banvel®, or a combination (Weedmaster®) can be used on most but not all grasses. One must know whether or not these herbicides will injure the new grass before using them. For example, 2,.4-D cannot be used on any seedling grass such as bahiagrass or limpograss. On the other hand, Banvel can be used on limpograss, and, in South Florida, producers can use Weedmaster when establishing stargrass and bermudagrasses. If herbicides are not available, mechanical control by mowing at appropriate times will provide control of annual weeds or at least prevent them from crowding out the new pasture grass. ESTABLISHMENT COSTS Cost of establishment depends on several factors, including loca- tion, land preparation and cultural practices. Labor and machinery will likely account for the greatest proportion of establishment cost. If a permanent, perimeter fence does not exist, this will add to the establishment cost as well. For example, in the VI, establishment cost for 20 acres could total approximately $14,000, including site prepara- tion, seed, fertilizer, fencing, watering troughs and pipes, labor and machinery. Since establishment costs are only incurred once, but the benefits are distributed over time, such costs need to be annualized (a simple way to annualize equipment costs, for example, is to divide equipment cost by the years of useful life). SUMMARY For a successful pasture estab- lishment you must plan ahead: ) Have the land prepared during the dry season. ) Prepare a smooth, level, weed- free and firm seedbed. ©) Be prepared to plant during the time of year when rainfall is well distributed, C) Use quality seed or matured planting materials. OQ) Always plant into a seedbed with good soil moisture. ) When planting, place the seed or planting material at the appropriate depth. ) Firm soil around the seed and use appropriate establishment fer- tilizer and weed control. Prepared by Elide Valencia, Assistant Professor of Agronomy, University of the Virgin Islands, and Gerard D'Souza, Professor of Agriculture-and-Res Issued by the University of the Virgprils Director. Funding for this Factsheet was provi and Education (SARE) LS 99-107. ources Economics, West Virginia University.