Latest Cultivation and Management Techniques and Methods Tutorial for Bahia Grass
Bahia grass is suitable for growth in tropical and subtropical regions with annual rainfall above 750 mm. Most areas of southern China, including Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Hubei and Anhui, are suitable for planting. It has low soil requirements and still grows strongly on relatively dry sandy soil with low fertility. It has many basal leaves and is tolerant of trampling, with well-developed stolons and high coverage, and requires low levels of maintenance and management, making it an excellent plant for road slope protection, soil and water conservation and landscaping in southern China.
Cultivation Value
Bahia grass has tender stems and leaves, is rich in nutrients, contains a complete range of amino acids and has a high glutamic acid content, with good palatability. It is a high-quality forage grass for cattle, sheep, pigs, rabbits, geese, fish and so on; for example, feeding it to pigs can save 10% of concentrated feed. It produces 40,000 to 75,000 kg of fresh grass per hectare per year. It has a good effect on improving soil and increasing fertility; according to surveys, after three to five years of planting, soil organic matter can increase by 2%. Bahia grass grows quickly, has good coverage performance and significantly fixes soil and conserves water, making it an excellent grass species for soil and water conservation. In addition, Bahia grass has a long green period, abundant leaves and a thick grass layer, and is especially tolerant of trampling, so it can be used as a planting material for greening and beautification.
Cultivation Techniques
1. Key points of cultivation techniques: choose a suitable variety. For example, the small-leaf variety is more cold-tolerant, and seedling propagation has strong reproductive capacity and rapid growth, with a seed germination rate of 50%. The large-leaf variety is less cold-tolerant and not suitable for propagation in winter, but it has high grass yield and a very low seed germination rate, generally 20%, so it is generally propagated by cuttings. Bahia grass mainly uses division propagation, with stolon cuttings. Because it roots at the nodes, it survives very easily, and the survival rate can reach 100%. Each 1—2 nodes of a stolon can be used as one cutting, and the annual propagation coefficient is as high as 50. Sowing and seedling raising have stricter requirements; the seeds must be treated to loosen the glumes, and the germination rate is not high. The sowing rate is 112.5 kg/hectare. Bahia grass is best planted from March to June, and planting in autumn can also survive. Generally, 90,000 to 120,000 plants are planted per hectare. Before planting, plow 20 cm deep and apply 375 kg of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus plus 3,000 to 4,200 kg of livestock manure per hectare as base fertilizer. After planting during summer drought, water appropriately 1 to 2 times. Weeds should be removed promptly in the early planting stage, and after 2 to 3 months the ground can be completely covered. According to growth conditions, after cutting the green grass, apply nitrogen fertilizer promptly at 225 to 300 kg/hectare to promote tillering and growth of Bahia grass, thereby increasing fresh grass yield.
2. Sowing: Bahia grass is best planted in spring or early summer. If there is not sufficient rainfall or good irrigation conditions, do not sow during the hottest period of summer, otherwise the seedling emergence effect will be very poor. If used as a lawn, the sowing rate of Bahia grass is 15 g/m2, and the sowing depth is 1 cm. If used for soil and water conservation or as forage grass, the sowing rate can be appropriately reduced. Within 3 to 5 weeks after sowing, irrigate frequently and lightly several times a day. After the seedlings emerge fully, reduce the number of irrigations, but increase the amount of water each time to promote the development of the Bahia grass root system. A successfully established Bahia grass lawn has very strong drought resistance and does not need frequent irrigation. Because Bahia grass seeds germinate and establish very slowly, they can be mixed-sown with about 10% perennial ryegrass or annual ryegrass as a transition to increase the speed of lawn formation and reduce weed damage. Variety: Pensacola has stronger upright growth and medium-fine leaves compared with common varieties. It has stout rhizomes and very strong invasiveness, and is suitable for soil and water conservation and general green space construction. It grows well on poor sandy soil, and its mixed sowing effect with other grasses such as carpet grass and bermuda grass is very good.
3. Maintenance and management: Bahia grass has good drought tolerance, but grows best with regular irrigation or under relatively uniform rainfall conditions. In areas without frost in winter, Bahia grass can remain evergreen all year round. In areas with relatively low winter temperatures, Bahia grass has a certain yellowing period, and annual or perennial ryegrass can be used for overseeding to maintain the green color of the lawn.
Disease Control
Bahia grass can be sown in spring or autumn. In South China, spring sowing is most suitable in the humid weather from March to May when the average ten-day temperature reaches above 15 degrees. Autumn sowing should be carried out before mid-September. It can be sown alone or mixed-sown very well with strongly invasive bermuda grass and carpet grass, with a sowing rate of 10-15 kg/mu. After sowing, compact the soil with a roller. When planting on plots with a certain slope, hydroseeding is best; the sowing rate for hydroseeding is 20-25 kg/mu. After sowing, irrigate once each morning and evening every day to keep the surface soil moist. Bahia grass grows relatively slowly in the seedling stage, the seedlings are weak, and their competitiveness with weeds is weak, so weed damage in the seedling stage is relatively serious. Therefore, special attention should be paid to weed control before and after sowing.