Grasses

• Cool-Season Annual Grasses
  

  These grasses can be used on fallow crop ground, or over areas planted to warm-season grasses to provide high quality forage during the winter. Just as with warm-season annual grasses, these grasses tend to be expensive, so their use should be limited.

  Small Grains Annual Ryegrass

• Cool-Season Perennial Grasses
  

  Grasses in this category tend to predominate forage programs in Tennessee. Their long growing seasons and high quality make them desirable forage crops. Their ability to survive summer droughts vary, so stand life can vary tremendously between these grasses.

  Kentucky Bluegrass Matuagrass Orchardgrass Reed Canarygrass Tall Fescue Timothy

  Warm-Season Annual Grasses
  

  These grasses can provide grazing and hay during a two or three month period during the summer. Annuals tend to be more expensive than perennials, so the profitable use of these grasses is limited.

  Browntop Millet Crabgrass Foxtail Millet Pearl Millet Sorghum-Sudangrass Hybrids and Sudangrass Teff Grass

  Warm-Season Perennial Grasses
  

  These grasses tend to be more drought tolerant plants, that produce forage between April and October. Little to no forage is produced outside of these dates. These forages have the potential to provide hay and grazing during the summer, when cool-season grasses are less productive due to drought and heat.
  

  Bermudagrass Big Bluestem Caucasian Bluestem Dallisgrass Eastern Gamagrass Indiangrass Johnsongrass Switchgrass

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Legumes

• Cool-Season Annual Legumes
  

  These Legumes make most of their growth in the winter and spring. These species may be seeded in the fall to provide a higher quality late winter/spring pasture.

  Arrowleaf Clover Berseem Clover Crimson Clover Hairy Vetch Subterranean Clover

  Cool-Season Perennial Legumes
  

  These Legumes make most of their growth in the winter and Spring. Although these species are termed cool-season, many continue to be productive throughout the summer. Periods of drought will reduce growth. These species also provide good, high-protein pasture.

  Alfalfa Birdsfoot Trefoil Red Clover Ladino White Clover

  Warm-Season Annual Legumes
  

  The Legumes provide good quality forage and fix nitrogen over an extended portion of the year. These species will often naturally reseed themselves and can be an important, high-quality component of summer pastures. The lespedezas are high in tannin and may help reduce parasite loads.

  Annual Lespedeza

• Warm-Season Perennial Legumes
  

  The Legumes provide good quality forage and fix nitrogen over an extended portion of the year. These plants can provide a highly digestible, high-protein diet. The ability of these plants to fix atmospheric nitrogen makes them an inexpensive protein source. Warm-season legumes initiate growth in late spring after soil temperatures reach 65°F. Many of these species contain high levels of tannins, which can help reduce parasite loads.

  Sericea Lespedeza
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