PASTURE RENOVATION EFFECTS ON JIGGS BERMUDAGRASS PRODUCTION
Robert A. Lane, Ph.D.
Introduction
Interest in renovation of bermudagrass (Cynodon
dactylon) pastures is common following serious drought
conditions. The drought of 2011 was one of historical
proportions throughout Texas, causing extensive forage
and livestock losses. It appears that when forage
production experiences a steep decline due to lack of
precipitation, producers turn their attention to production
practices that might allow them to trap and store as
much soil moisture as possible. Many assume
compaction and reduced water storage are primary
causes for losses in production. Local producers have
indicated that hay yields were increased substantially in
10-20 year-old Jiggs bermudagrass pastures following
renovation with either chisel plowing or disking,
presumably due to improved water infiltration and root
penetration.
Objective
To determine if pasture renovation via disking or chisel
plowing will improve the dry matter yield of 15 year-old
or one year-old paddocks of Jiggs bermudagrass.
Methods
• Study was completed at Sam Houston State
University’s Gibbs Ranch, Huntsville, Texas, during the
summer of 2012.
• Adjacent one and 15 year-old paddocks of Jiggs
bermudagrass, each approximately 4.5 acres, were
selected for treatment.
• Two 1000 ft strips (two replicates per treatment) in
each paddock were subjected to renovation on July 6,
2012 by disking (6 ft Frontier heavy duty tandem disk
with notched blades set for relatively low sod
disturbance) and chisel plowing (Hay King, penetrating
8-11 inches deep with a chisel spacing of 14 inches).
• The soil is a Falba fine sandy loam, classified as a
claypan soil. While the underlying massive clay of Falba
soils ranges from 7 to 13 inches from the surface, the
chisels did not contact an underlying clay layer at this
site.
• Plots measuring 40 sq ft from each treatment were
harvested on July 23 and October 12, 2012 for
determination of dry matter production.
Sam Houston State University
Table 1. Mean dry matter yields of Jiggs bermudagrass following renovation
treatment, Huntsville, Texas, 2012.
Figure 1. Mean dry matter yields of Jiggs bermudagrass following renovation
treatment as affected by age of paddock, Huntsville, Texas, 2012. Bars marked
with different letters are significantly different at the .05 level of probability.
Results
• The analysis of variance for dry matter production on
July 23 showed no significant differences for either
renovation treatment or paddock (Table 1).
• There were also no significant differences among
renovation treatments for the October harvest, however,
the ANOVA for dry matter production on that date did
indicate a paddock effect.
• All treatments in the 15 year-old paddock outyielded
those in the newer (1 year-old) paddock by an average of
687 lb dry matter per acre (figure 1).
Conclusions
Previous research indicates that renovation of
bermudagrass pastures is of little agronomic or
economic value (Hoveland, 2000; Self-Davis et al.,
1996; and Wynne and Hancock, 2009). The results of
this study also indicate that bermudagrass pasture
renovation under conditions similar to those seen in this
study is neither beneficial to new or well established
pastures nor economically practical.
References
Hoveland, Carl. 2000. Does Aeration of Pastures and
Hayfields Pay? “The Georgia Cattleman,” February,
2000.
 
Self-Davis, M.L., M.S. Miller, R.L. Raper, and D.W.
Reeves. 1996. Pasture Soil and Vegetation Response
to Renovation Tillage, in Proceedings: “New
Technology and Conservation Tillage,” 19th Annual
Southern Conservation Tillage Conference for
Sustainable Agriculture.
Wynne, T. and D. Hancock. 2009. Does Aerating or
Renovating Hay and Pasture Fields Pay? Forages
FAQs. Retrieved 10-15-12. From
http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/forage
s/questions/aerate.html