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Is Tifton 85 a good horse hay?
Coastal and Tifton 85 are both excellent warm-season grasses and they will provide the high quality hay and pasture required for hoses if properly managed.
Is Tifton hay better than Coastal?
This hay produces fewer rhizomes than traditional coastal, but the rhizomes produced are much larger and higher quality. When grown as a hay crop, Tifton 85 produces up to two-thirds more forage per acre than coastal. Tifton has a much higher digestibility rate and higher fiber content than Coastal.
What is Tifton Bermuda?
Tifton 44 bermudagrass is a fine stemmed F1 hybrid that must be propagated vegetatively. Compared with Coastal bermuda, Tifton 44 is darker green, has finer stems that cure faster when cut for hay, has more rhizomes, is a little shorter, and makes a denser sod.
Is Tifton 85 hay good for cows?
Due to its ease of establishment, excellent drought tolerance and excellent animal performance, literally millions of cattle, horses, sheep and goats have grazed Tifton 85 Bermuda grass since its release without incident, he said.
Is Bermuda good hay for horses?
Bermuda hay is a nutritious option that you can use for feeding your horses. For horses in training and back yard horses, Bermuda hay, in combination with alfalfa, will promote their optimal health.
How fast does Tifton 85 spread?
Tifton 85 spreads rapidly by stolons, with spread measured at 18 inches per week during June growth; it spreads more vigorously by rhizomes than other varieties. Tifton 85 is an F1 hybrid between a plant introduction from South Africa (PI 290884) and Tifton 68; it is higher in digestibility than Coastal or Jiggs.
How do you plant Tifton 85?
Plant the vegetative material 2 to 3 inches deep, using a commercial sprig planter, a crimper, or a disk covering 50% of the runners. Do not plant the material too deep or the sprigs will use all their energy trying to emerge from the soil and be left without reserves for growth.
Is Bermuda grass bad for cows?
This grass species is an excellent warm-season perennial grass that stands up to grazing pressure and responds well to fertility and moisture. Cows can meet their nutrient requirements on bermudagrass during the growing season and with stockpiled forage in the fall, if calving timing is correct.
Is Bermuda hay bad for horses?
Bermuda hay is good for horses; it’s high in fiber which helps horses ingest food and absorb nutrients in their diet. However, a diet solely of Bermuda hay wouldn’t provide the necessary amount of protein or all the essential minerals and vitamins horses require.
What hay is bad for horses?
Some hay types are particularly prone to high nitrate levels and should be avoided if there are options. These include: Sorghum, Sudan, Johnsongrass and Pearl Millet. High levels of simple carbohydrate (sugars, starch) are an issue for horses with insulin resistance and can occur in virtually any type of hay.
What does Tifton 85 look like?
Tifton 85 is a sterile pentaploid. Except for Tifton 68, it is taller, has larger stems, broader leaves and a darker green color than other bermudagrass hybrids. Tifton 85 has large rhizomes (though many fewer than Coastal and Tifton 44), crowns, and very large, rapidly spreading stolons.
Is Bermuda hay good for cattle?
What should the temp be for Tifton 85 bermudagrass?
Dr. Jeffrey Anderson, Oklahoma State University, found that Tifton 85 bermudagrass could tolerate temperatures as low as 22 o F; Coastal bermuda survived 19 o F. In 1991, seventeen agronomists from Texas and Oklahoma to South Carolina established replicated small plots of Coastal, Tifton 44, Tifton 78 and Tifton 85 bermudagrasses.
What makes Tifton 85 a good hay product?
Tifton 85 makes a lot of sense if you are looking for a high quality hay product based on its protein and digestibility profile. Crops started with sprigs, not seeds. The grass then establishes using rhizomes and runners.
Which is better Alicia or Tifton bermudagrass?
Alicia was selected from introductions from Africa and marketed by a Texas businessman in the early 1970s. Alicia is relatively easy to establish from sprigs or clippings (tops) and produces high hay yields similar to Coastal and Tifton 44. Its forage is much less digestible and lower in quality than Tifton 85 and even Coastal.
Which is the best Tifton 85 F 1 hybrid?
Tifton 85 is the best of many F 1 hybrids between PI 290884 from South Africa and Tifton 68, a highly digestible but cold susceptible hybrid that was released in 1983. Tifton 85 is a sterile pentaploid. Except for Tifton 68, it is taller, has larger stems, broader leaves and a darker green color than other bermudagrass hybrids.