Red River Crabgrass (Digitaria cilaris)
It may be hard to believe that we would recommend planting crabgrass for forage in California, however, we not only recommend it as a summer anunual forage, but know it has a place in our pasture forage program.
Red
River crabgrass was selected by the Noble Foundation of Ardmore, OK.
Red River crabgrass was selected for forage production as a summer
annual.
How can you profit from planting Red River crabgrass?
- Excellent summer pasture yields, better tolerance to grazing than sudangrass.
- Very palatable - equal to sudangrass in palatability.
- Excellent grazing tolerance - can yield more than 12,000 lbs. of dry matter per acre.
- Excellent summer gains on stocker cattle.
- Yields 32% higher under rotational grazing - Noble Foundation Trial
- Double cropping with winter annuals for pasture
- Can be used for hay. Can be planted into existing pastures (no-till).
- Can be managed for re-seeding
- Can be used for wildlife seeding -as the seed is palatable and high in feed value. It is a good cover for upland game birds.
Planting Instructions:
- Plant from April to August. Soil temperature of 70º F.
- Plant at 3-5 lbs. per acre
- Plant shallow 1/4 inches deep.
Note: all information taken from the Noble Foundation and Elstel Farm & Seeds.