Kentucky bluegrass grows in Panhandle’s fertile fields

Nebraskans are familiar with the vivid green colors of lush Kentucky bluegrass spanning parks, golf courses and front yards.

What few realize, however, is that Panhandle farmers grow bluegrass seed right here in the Cornhusker state.

In July, seed producers harvested 300 acres of Kentucky bluegrass from Panhandle fields that typically raise corn, dry edible beans or wheat.

Western Nebraska’s climatic and production conditions are ideal for growing and harvesting certified turfgrass seed, said IANR Turfgrass Scientist Bob Shearman. Grass seed is planted one year, harvested the next.

Low humidity is critical. Grass is swathed, or cut, into windrows and left on the ground to dry seven to 10 days until harvested with a traditional combine equipped with a pickup head, said David Baltensperger, IANR plant breeder at NU’s Panhandle Research and Extension Center, Scottsbluff.

“We need dry weather during maturity,” Baltensperger said.

Baltensperger and Shearman head NU’s turfgrass seed research in variety trials near Scottsbluff, Sidney and Alliance.

“Turfgrass is a perennial which is an asset to organic matter in the soil and provides conservation against water and wind erosion,” Baltensperger said. “Our research is part of an NU Center for Grassland Studies emphasis to explore turf seed as a high-value crop fitting into western Nebraska’s crop rotations.”

Panhandle grass seed crops are irrigated in spring and summer by center pivot irrigation. Eastern Nebraska’s more frequent rainfall and high humidity, which would create fungal and disease challenges, reduce its potential as a turf seed region, Baltensperger said.

“We know that we can produce Kentucky bluegrass here (in the Panhandle),” Shearman said. “We know that there is a market for proprietary Kentucky bluegrass varieties.”

Seed companies such as Scotts Co. or Turf Seed, both based in Oregon, outline crop requirements for proprietary seed in written contracts with Nebraska producers. Extensive crop knowledge from seed companies and growers who grow 150,000 acres of turfgrass production in the Pacific Northwest, the nation’s traditional seed-growing region, is helpful to Nebraska producers.

Box Butte County producer Dan Laursen harvested his sixth annual grass seed crop this summer. Careful management and regionally based research are important to him.

“When I started, all I knew about grass seed came from specialists in the Northwest,” Laursen said. “I really pushed for the University of Nebraska to learn more about grass seed production in this state. Grass seed is one crop that can help us diversify our agricultural base.”

Baltensperger said current IANR turfgrass research targets three priorities. They are:

1. Define fertility programs for turfgrasses by comparing rates and sources of nitrogen. NU researchers recommend a minimum of 145 pounds nitrogen per year. Their studies yielded best results applying 180-190 pounds of nitrogen annually. Researchers found no significant differences between ammonium nitrate, ammonium thiosulfate, ammonium sulfate and urea fertilizer.

2. Analyze planting dates in test plots planted from April through September. Tall fescue and ryegrass planted in April are prone to winter injury, while April and May bluegrass plantings create early growth, filling in between 14-inch rows, requiring extra irrigation and creating thatch management challenges, Shearman said.

Mid-June and July planting dates are ideal for Kentucky bluegrass seed, Shearman said. Post-Aug. 15 plantings are susceptible to erosion.

3. Compare variety trials of Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescues and perennial ryegrasses. Test plots near Scottsbluff, Sidney and Alliance provide visual and production data. Bluegrass yields range from 400 to 1,000 pounds of seed per acre, Baltensperger said.

Generally, the price of high-yielding varieties is low, and conversely, he said. Spring-written contracts paid $2 per pound for 400 pound-per-acre average yields and 90 cents for 1,000 pounds per acre, Baltensperger said.

IANR researchers and Laursen joined efforts in 1996 and 1997 for fertility trials at the Laursen farm. In June, they planted 17 varieties of bluegrass there for full-scale comparisons under field production practices.

A federal grant administered by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and NU’s Center for Grassland Studies helps fund this research.

— Mary Bargman Crawford

Soybean lines gift could sprout real benefits for growers

NU’s soybean breeding program got a boost earlier this year when Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. donated experimental soybean lines valued at just over $1 million.

Pioneer donated small-seeded, food-grade soybean lines to the University of Nebraska Foundation to benefit the IANR program. Some donated lines are one or two years from commercialization; others are just entering the testing process.

The donated lines are best suited for human use as sprouts or natto, a specialty product considered a health food in Japan, IANR Soybean Breeder George Graef said.

“This material adds another dimension to our small-seeded soybean breeding program,” Graef said. “Developing soybeans for human uses is a major focus for us.”

NU breeders began testing some of the donated lines this summer. They’ll also share the material with plant breeders at other universities.

“We look forward to working with this material and anything we eventually commercialize from this donation will benefit our Nebraska growers,” Graef said.

The Pioneer donation was part of a food-grade soybean research and development program that the company discontinued.

“The University of Nebraska has a vital, full-fledged food-grade breeding program,” said Clark Jennings, Pioneer’s soybean research manager. “This germplasm complements their efforts and ensures the public will benefit from the total research and development efforts.”

— Vicki Miller

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