09/29/2026
Fall / Winter Pasture Notes
By: Brad Jones, MSU ES Stone County
With the slightest fall feel to our sunrises the past few days I have developed a slight itch to start planting a few oats, maybe a little ryegrass in the next few weeks. That itch must be spreading, as we have had several calls the past few days for information on ryegrass varieties, planting rates, and other cool season forages.
As you consider what to plant, how much, and when there are lots of variables to consider. From available acreage, your number of animals to graze, stage of reproduction / growth the animals are in, equipment available, current weather…. All of those are just a start to the list of considerations for planting cool season forages.
For this article I’d like to point out for ryegrass we have many varieties (60 +) available that offer good grazing when used in the right situation, but most come down to a primary difference. Is it a tetraploid or diploid, which is based on the number of chromosomes in the grass. Diploid varieties have two sets of chromosomes (2n = 14) in each cell; their cells are smaller in size with lower water (moisture) content; their plant structures, leaf and seed size are smaller; and the plants tend to produce more tillers. Higher tiller density can provide a denser stand, be more competitive with weeds, and sustain production in lower fertility and wetter soils. Diploids also tend to have a more prostrate growth (horizontal) type, which allows the stand to be more persistent in heavy grazing scenarios. On the other hand, tetraploid varieties have four sets of chromosomes (4n = 28) in each cell with larger cell sizes, wider leaves, larger seed size, greater content of soluble carbohydrates (sugar and starch), and less fiber content. Tetraploids tend to have higher water content in their cells; therefore, animals will need to consume more forage to achieve the same dry matter intake than when grazing diploid types of annual ryegrass.
While both have great attributes, a keynote that bears repeating is that we consistently see diploids tend to germinate faster in the fall often leading to earlier grazing when moisture is available, but tetraploids are slower maturing in the spring, adding more days of grazing to the spring growing season. Depending on your grazing needs there are times to plant these types of grass separately and times we may consider mixing them. In a situation where we need the ryegrass to mature early for summer grasses to grow in, a diploid variety may be a higher consideration. When grazing needs are high and more days of grazing are needed, mixing them can help to get early and late season grazing. When a need is there for added days on the springtime growth, and fall grazing needs are not as high, the slower maturing tetraploid grasses may be beneficial.
As you make your planting decisions this fall keep in mind that each annual ryegrass type and variety has its strengths and weaknesses; make sure that you select one that provides the greatest advantage for your unique grazing situation. Your management and use, along with the environment, will play big roles in which variety you decide to plant for grazing purposes. If we can be of any assistance, please contact us at your local Extension Office or check out the following links for information on cools season forage publications.
https://extension.msstate.edu/publications/annual-ryegrass-performance-mississippi-long-term-yield-production
https://extension.msstate.edu/agriculture/forages/management-forages/grass-planting-rates
