Numbered Publications: Plant and Soil Sciences
ID-160: Burley and Dark Tobacco Production Guide, 2023-2024
Andy Bailey, Ric Bessin, Lowell Bush, Ann Fisher, J.D. Green, Bill Pearce, Edwin Ritchey, Wayne Sanderson, Will Snell | Jan. 17, 2023 (Major Revision)
The 2022 season will be remembered as a year of extremes in weather patterns. Early in the field season, 2022 brought extreme drought and heat during transplanting in May and June followed by excessive rainfall in July in some areas. These conditions led to growers making significant replanting decisions as transplant shock was very widespread. There was a return of extremely dry conditions in August that extended through nearly the entire curing season. It was the driest field conditions that most burley and dark tobacco growers have experienced since 2012, and the driest curing season that many growers could recall. 2022 further emphasized the importance of access to irrigation to sustain the tobacco crop through extended dry periods in the field, as well as tight barns that allow management of air-flow to moderate the effects of dry curing seasons.
PR-823: 2022 Cool-Season Grass Grazing Tolerance Report
Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Tim Phillips, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 19, 2022 (New)
Cool-season forages such as tall fescue, orchardgrass, and Kentucky bluegrass are the primary pasture grasses in Kentucky. Other species such as perennial ryegrass and festulolium can also be used in pasture systems. Little is known about the effect of variety on the grazing tolerance of these cool-season grass species.
PR-826: 2022 Long-Term Summary of Kentucky Forage Variety Trials
Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 19, 2022 (New)
Forage crops occupy approximately 7 million acres in Kentucky. Forages provide a majority of the nutrition for beef, dairy, horse, goat, sheep, and wildlife in the state. In addition, forage crops play a positive environmental role in soil conservation, water quality, and air quality. There are more than 60 forage species adapted to the climate and soil conditions of Kentucky. Only 10 to 12 of these species occupy the majority of the acreage, but within these species there is a tremendous variation in varieties.
AGR-268: Evaluating Cool-season Perennial Grass Pastures using the UK Horse Pasture Health Score Card
Krista Lea, Ray Smith | Dec. 19, 2022 (New)
Providing quality forage is essential to horse health, and pasture can provide a significant portion of the horse's forage needs. Objective evaluation of a pasture's condition can help determine appropriate pasture management practices. The UK Horse Pasture Health Score Card can be used to evaluate horse pastures and determine what improvements should be made.
PR-825: 2022 Annual Grass Report Warm Season and Cool Season (Cereals)
Bill Bruening, Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 19, 2022 (New)
Summer annual grasses provide an important forage crop option for producers in Kentucky. These grasses are mainly used as emergency or supplemental pasture, silage, or hay crops, but little information is available on their yield potential. The purpose of this publication is to summarize the University of Kentucky 2008-2021 forage yield trials with sudangrass, sorghum/sudangrass, forage sorghum, millets, teff, crabgrass, and cereal crops.
PR-822: 2022 Alfalfa, Red Clover and White Clover Grazing Tolerance Report
Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 15, 2022 (New)
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is the highest-yielding, highest-quality forage legume grown in Kentucky. It forms the basis of Kentucky's cash hay enterprise and is an important component in dairy, horse, beef, and sheep diets. Recent emphasis on its use as a grazing crop and the release of grazing-tolerant varieties have raised the following question: Do varieties differ in tolerance to grazing? To answer this question, we have chosen to use the standard tolerance test recommended by the North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference. This test uses continuous heavy grazing to sort out differences in grazing tolerance in a relatively short period of time.
PR-824: 2022 Cool-Season Grass Horse Grazing Tolerance Report
Jimmy Henning, Laurie Lawrence, Gene Olson, Tim Phillips, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 14, 2022 (New)
Cool-season forages such as Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, and orchardgrass are dominant pasture grasses for horses in Kentucky. Variety evaluations for yield have been carried out for many years, but little work has been done to evaluate varieties of these grasses for persistence when subjected to close, continuous grazing by horses.
PR-821: 2022 Annual and Perennial Ryegrass and Festulolium Report
Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Tim Phillips, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 13, 2022 (New)
Annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) are high quality, productive, cool-season grasses used in Kentucky. Both have exceptionally high seedling vigor and are highly palatable to livestock. In Kentucky, winter survival can be an issue for many annual ryegrass varieties, so before planting, review winter survival results in this publication.
ID-139: A Comprehensive Guide to Corn Management in Kentucky
Carl Bradley, J.D. Green, John Grove, Greg Halich, Erin Haramoto, Cam Kenimer, Carrie Knott, Chad Lee, Travis Legleiter, Sam McNeill, Michael Montross, Hanna Poffenbarger, Dan Quinn, Edwin Ritchey, Montse Salmeron, Jordan Shockley, Tim Stombaugh, Raul Villanueva, Ole Wendroth, Kiersten Wise | Dec. 13, 2022 (Major Revision)
Corn is a summer annual crop that is grown widely across Kentucky, the United States, and around the world. In the United States, field corn is grown on about 85 million acres (34 million hectares) while sweet corn is grown on about 600,000 acres (240,000 hectares) and popcorn is grown on about 200,000 acres (81,000 hectares). Most of the field corn across the United States is yellow dent corn. In Kentucky, both yellow dent corn and white dent corn are grown. Corn acres in Kentucky peaked at 3.85 million in 1917 and have been around 1.2 to 1.5 million acres since the 1970s (USDA-NASS, 2020). Most corn in Kentucky today is grown in minimum tillage or no-tillage conditions. Most corn acres are rotated with soybean or wheat and double-crop soybeans.
AGR-235: Baleage: Frequently Asked Questions
Jimmy Henning, Brandon Sears, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 13, 2022 (Minor Revision)
Baled silage, or "baleage," is an excellent method for forage harvest, storage, and feed efficiency. This publication focuses on common questions about baleage. Together with AGR-173: Baling Forage Crops for Silage, this information will help producers better understand the production and use of baleage as livestock feed.