Ryegrass

"Ocala"—A New Diploid Annual Ryegrass for the Southern US

A. R. Blount, G. M. Prine, K. E. Kenworthy, P. Mislevy, J. C. Jones, and P. E. Reith

Ocala, a new UF annual ryegrass, has excellent disease resistance and sufficient cold tolerance to be grown successfully in the southern annual ryegrass region of the U.S. It is a well-adapted, diploid annual ryegrass population. Parentage includes several advanced experimental annual ryegrass populations for Florida and Nebraska.

"Earlyploid"—Tetraploid Annual Ryegrass

A. R. Blount, G. M. Prine, C. L. Mackowiak, K. E. Kenworthy, J. C. Jones, and P. E. Reith

Earlyploid, developed at the UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center, is a large-seeded, upright, early forage-producing and early maturing annual ryegrass. Regional variety trials show it is the earliest tetraploid ryegrass cultivar available commercially. It offers excellent disease resistance and sufficient cold tolerance to be grown successfully in the southern annual ryegrass region of the U.S.

Grass Tetany in Cattle

Y. C. Newman, M. J. Hersom, and W. E. Kunkle

This document is about grass tetany, sometimes called grass staggers or hypomagnesemia, that can be a serious problem in Florida with cattle grazing small grain or ryegrass pastures. The problem is usually confined to lactating cows. It is always associated with an imbalance in the mineral components of blood serum, especially reduced magnesium levels. In Florida, grass tetany is more severe when cattle are grazing young forage, particularly the first flush of growth during December and January. Once the forage becomes more mature, the likelihood of problems is reduced. Grass tetany is apt to appear under conditions of nutritional stress. Placing cattle on winter pasture directly after being on frosted or other low quality pasture may cause such a nutritional stress. First published in April 1997. 

AGS 104—A New Rye Cultivar for Winter Forage and Silage Production

Ann Blount, Ronald Barnett, Jerry Johnson, Cheryl Mackowiak, and Yoana Newman