Like other warm-season grasses, switch grass is noted for its heavy growth during June, July and August. It makes excellent pasture during those hot, summer months, and can be baled for hay. The stiff-stemmed, upright growth is rated excellent for wildlife nesting, brood rearing and winter cover. Its extensive root system provides excellent stabilizing cover for soil erosion control. Because of its stiff straw, it also is a valuable plant for field borders and wind barriers.

Switch grass is a perennial bunchgrass that grows three to five feet tall. It can be distinguished from other warm-season grasses, even when plants are young, by the white patch of hair at the point where the leaf attaches to the stem. The stem is round and usually has a reddish tint. The seed head is spreading and open.

Switch grass is winter hardy, and will grow in all areas of Missouri. In fact, switch grass is native to all areas of the United States except five states in the Northeast. It is adapted to a wide range of soils, but does best on fertile, well-drained soil. It will withstand droughty soil, but is better suited to moderately wet soil. Its tolerance to flooding is very good. One variety of switch grass recommended for use in Missouri is 'Cave-In-Rock.' It was released for public use by the Soil Conservation Service's Elsberry (MO) Plant Materials Center.

Switch grass should be seeded in a pure stand when used for pasture or hay because it can be managed better alone than in a mixture. Its shiny, slick, clean, free-flowing seed can be planted with a drill or with a broadcast spreader.

Switch grass is best planted at a rate of about four pounds of pure live seed per acre during April and May. Spring seedings should be made in fine, firm seedbeds free of competition. Seedbeds should be firmed with a roller prior to the drilling or broadcasting of seed. If the seed is planted using the broadcast method, it also should be rolled afterward to help cover the seed. When drilled, seeds should be planted one-fourth inch deep.

No-tillage seedings in closely grazed sod also have been successful where control of sod is accomplished with proper herbicides. In addition, early spring plantings (March and April) and fall dormant seedings (November and December) have been successful, and can provide weed and soil erosion control.

Another option is to seed switch grass into a low population corn crop. Allow the switch grass to become established while the corn is growing. Then after corn harvest, manage the switch grass for pasture the next year. The preferred method is to use a drill to plant the switch grass, and follow with a no-till planting of corn. Atrazine and 2, 4-D may be used for weed control. Late spring or early summer plantings of switch grass should not be made with a companion crop because of potential moisture stress.

Weed control with all plantings of switch grass is important the first year. Switch grass is atrazine resistant, and applying it at the label rate at or soon after planting will help control weeds.

Phosphorus and potassium should be applied according to soil tests before or at seeding. Nitrogen, however, should not be used at seeding time because it will stimulate weed growth. Fertilizer applied during the seeding year usually does not increase stand density, but will increase plant vigor. If nitrogen is to be used the first year, it should not be applied until mid-July, and then only on stands with limited weed competition. No more than 30 pounds of nitrogen per acre should be applied at that time.

Stand densities of 1.5 to two established plants per square foot in the spring of the second year is adequate for hay yields or pasture.

If weeds are a problem during the seeding year, switch grass may be mowed at a four-inch height in May or a six-inch height in June or July. Grazing is not recommended the first year, but a vigorous stand can be grazed late in the year. Switch grass begins growing late in the spring, making about 70 percent of its production after June 1. This makes its management quite different from cool-season grasses. However, it is the earliest maturing of the three most common warm-season grasses (Indian grass and big bluestem are the others). It is ready to graze in early summer.

Established stands of switch grass may be fertilized in accordance with soil tests. Generally, 60 pounds of nitrogen and 30 pounds each of phosphorus and potassium per acre are adequate for maximum yields. Apply the nitrogen after the switch grass has begun to produce- a single application in mid-to-late May or a split application in both May and early July. Avoid high rates of nitrogen because carry over could spur cool-season grass growth and harm young plants the following spring.

Switch grass may benefit from burning of plant residues at the initiation of spring growth. Burning fields once every three to five years decreases other plant competition, eliminates excessive residue and stimulates switch grass growth. Switch grass used for wildlife food and cover also should be burned once every three to four years to reduce mulch accumulations that inhibit movement of hatchlings and attract nest predators.

Begin grazing switch grass only after it has reached a height of 14 to 16 inches, usually in late May. Grazing should be stopped when plants are grazed to within four inches of the ground in May eight inches in June and 12 inches in late August. A rest before frost is needed to allow for carbohydrate storage in the stem bases and crown. This will help produce vigorous plant growth the next year. Switch grass may be grazed to a height of six to eight inches after frost. The winter stubble is needed to provide insulation.

For more information about switch grass, contact the local Soil Conservation Service office. It is listed in the telephone directory under "U.S. Government."

© United States Department of Agriculture

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