Pasture Pest Spotlight:
Broomsedge
As the weather turns cold, we begin to turn towards planning for fall and winter pasture management. It’s also the time that we begin to notice dying or dead warm-season species, such as broomstraw (also known as broomsedge). Broomstraw is a native warm-season perennial species, meaning that it grows during the summer months and will return year after year.
Research has shown that broomstraw prefers low fertility and low pH soils, making this species arguably one of the most preventable in forage settings and one of the best “indicator” species we have. Research completed in Missouri has shown that pasture not receiving lime or phosphorus fertilizer for 3 years had broomstraw content increase nearly 3 times the initial content.
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