Virginia CropMAPForage Grasses and LegumesList of forage crops that are either currently grown traditionally, recommended, experimental, or not-recommended in Virginia. Listing was compiled and written by:Dr. Harbans Bhardwaj, Agriclutural Research Station, Box 9061, Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA 23806. Phone: 804-524-6723; Fax: 804-524-5950; Email: hbhardwj@vsu.edu Chris Teutsch, Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center, 2375 Darvills Rd, Blackstone, VA 23824. Phone: 434-292-5331; Fax: 434-292-5623; Email: cteutsch@vt.edu Traditional Recommended Experimental Not Recommended
|
| Traditional | |
| Alfalfa | "Queen of the Forages", hay, silage, and grazing, high yields and forage quality, drought tolerant, persists 5+ years under good management |
| Bermudagrass | Warm-season perennial, forms a dense sod tolerant of close and frequent grazing, hay, silage and grazing, well adapted to southside of Virginia |
| Clover, Alsike | Hay, pasture, reclamation, little regrowth after first cutting |
| Clover, Ladino | Important pasture legume, reseeds, spreads by stolons, goes dormant during hot, dry periods |
| Clover, Red | Important pasture legume, short-lived perennial, persists 2-3 years in pastures, well adapted to frost seeding |
| Clover, White Dutch | Important in pastures, low growing, lower yielding that ladino |
| Johnsongrass | Commonly considered a weed, has good forage quality and palatability, can cause prussic acid and nitrate poisoning in livestock |
| Kentucky bluegrass | Well suited for grazing, best adapted to higher elevations, goes dormant during summer |
| Lespedeza, Annual | Warm-season annual, hay, grazing, tolerates low pH, use in combination with a grass |
| Lespedeza, Sericea | Pastures, hay and reclamation, tolerates low fertility and pH |
| Orchardgrass | Short-lived perennial, persists 4-5 years under good management (southside of Virginia) |
| Pearl millet | Summer annual, hay, silage, grazing |
| Redtop | Used in reclamation, can tolerate wet soils |
| Reed canarygrass | Hay, silage, and grazing, tolerates wet soils |
| Sorghum x sudangrass | Summer annual, hay, silage, grazing, can cause prussic acid and nitrate poisoning |
| Sudangrass | Summer annual, hay, silage, grazing, can cause prussic acid and nitrate poisoning |
| Tall fescue | Well adapted to Virginia, most important cool-season grass, infected with endophyte that produces toxins which are harmful to livestock |
| Vetch, Crown | Perennial used in reclamation and roadside stabilization |
| Recommended | |
| Bluestem, Big | Native grass, grazing, hay, wildlife plantings, difficult to establish |
| Bluestem, Caucasian | Warm-season perennial, grazing and hay, does best on fine textured soils, can be difficult to establish |
| Bluestem, Little | Native warm-season grass, grazing, hay, and wildlife plantings, can be difficult to establish |
| Indiangrass | Native warm-season grass, grazing, hay, and wildlife plantings, can be difficult to establish |
| Ryegrass, Annual | Provides late fall and early spring grazing, hay, silage, pasture, high quality |
| Soybean | Newly-developed tall varieties have great potential to provide forage during the summer. |
| Switchgrass | Native warm-season grass, grazing, hay, and wildlife plantings, can be difficult to establish |
| Triticale | Small grain, cross between wheat and rye, grain, hay, pasture and silage |
| Turnip, Forage | Late fall and early winter grazing, rapid growth in the fall, very high quality |
| Vetch, Hairy | Hay, silage, winter cover, can be a pest in small grains |
| Experimental | |
| Canola/Rapeseed | Pre-flowering foliage has considerable potential as a forage. |
| Chickpea | A cool-season food legume. Foliage can be harvested to provide excellent quality forage. Cutting stimulates growth that can be harvest for grain. |
| Clover, Kura | Long-lived perennial clover that spreads via rhizomes, tolerates close and frequent grazing |
| Crabgrass | Summer annual that acts like a perennial through reseeding, highly palatable, high nutritive value, hay, silage, and grazing |
| Kenaf | A relative of cotton and okra. Has great potential to provide forage during the summer. Up o four cuttings could be harvested in a single season. Crude protein content comparable to that of alfalfa. It is advisable to grow only broad-leafed varieties because the leaves of narrow-leaf varieties can be mistaken for marijuana. |
| Lupin | Above-ground biomass of sweet (alkaloid-free) cultivars has the potential to provide forage during April. May regrow to allow grain harvest. |
| Pigeonpea | A summer legume crop. Can be harvested when young as a forage. |
| Not Recommended | |
| Birdsfoot trefoil | Short-lived perennial with ability to reseed, not well adapted to southside of Virginia |
| Clover, Sweet | Biennial, deep taproot, hay, silage, pasture, poorly cured hay can cause hemorrhaging |
| Kudzu | Commonly considered a weed, highly palatable and very nutritious, can be used as pasture, hay and erosion control |
| Quackgrass | Commonly considered a weed, forms a dense sod, used for pasture and reclamation |
| Ryegrass, Perennial | Hay silage, grazing, does not persist well in Virginia |
| Smooth bromegrass | Hay and grazing, not well adapted to Virginia |
| Timothy | Primarily hay, not well adapted to southside of Virginia, does better in northern and western Virginia |