Forage crops are vital to Georgia’s beef, sheep and equine industries, providing a strong basis for pastures and support during cold weather feeding.
The University of Georgia offers two proprietary varieties of forage, Jesup Tall Fescue and Georgia 5 Tall Fescue, developed through animal trials for optimal yield and persistence. Both varieties are available with MaxQ, a proprietary anti-toxicosis endophyte developed by AgResearch (New Zealand) and sold by Pennington Seeds. MaxQ promotes plant growth without leading to toxicosity and reproduction problems in grazing animals.
The geography of Georgia allows for extensive foraging on cool- and warm-season forage grasses with maximum regrowth after grazing, making UGA’s Jesup and Georgia 5 Tall Fescues smart choices for the state’s producers.
Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum), a warm-weather perennial, is native to South America. This low-growing, hardy grass is recognized by its prominent V-shaped seed head. Bahiagrass is well-adapted adapted to a wide range of soils in the Coastal Plain region. It spreads by short, stout stolons and is a prolific seed-producer.
Bahiagrass will grow on soils too poorly drained for bermudagrass and is more shade tolerant than bermudagrass.
Used primarily as forage and for erosion control, bahiagrass forms a thick carpet of grass that stands up to foot traffic. It also can be used for lawns in coastal areas and in woodland pastures.
Meet Our Team
Georgia's Integrated Cultivar Release System (GICRS) is comprised of four entities; Georgia Seed Development (GSD); the University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc. (UGARF); the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) and the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations; and the Georgia Crop Improvement Association (GCIA). All play important roles in this method of plant development and marketing. Our Systems Approach integrates plant breeding research, intellectual property protection, quality control and marketing to customers in Georgia and across the globe. They are responsible for protecting and licensing intellectual property, including UGA-developed plant cultivars to seed companies, nurseries, farmers and other interested parties.
By working together, these four entities advance the knowledge of plant genetics, address anti-piracy issues and ensure the very best varieties are available to satisfy increasing global demand for crop output.
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University of Georgia
UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is one of the largest colleges of agriculture in the nation, known for its very high research activity. It houses the Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics (IPBGG), which includes 19 plant breeders located on UGA campuses at Athens, Griffin and Tifton. This interdisciplinary group of scientists creates new varieties of turfgrasses, peanuts, soybeans, wheat, pecans, vegetables, blueberries, forage grasses and ornamentals. These scientists also educate and train our next generation of plant breeders, making our organization one of the largest and strongest plant breeding programs in the world.
Dr. Harald Scherm
Contact
representing CAES Research -
University of Georgia Research Foundation
The University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc. (UGARF) was established as a 501(c) (3) organization in 1978. Located on the UGA Athens campus, UGARF owns the intellectual property developed by all UGA employees. It is responsible for licensing and protecting intellectual property and for managing UGA-CAES-developed plant materials licensed to seed companies, nurseries and other interested parties.
Brent Marable
Contact
representing plant material licensing for the University -
Georgia Crop Improvement Association
Established in 1946 and located in Athens, the Georgia Crop Improvement Association (GCIA) is an organization of seed and sod producers whose goal is to produce and market, through certification, high quality seeds and propagating materials of superior varieties. GCIA assists farmers in achieving their production goals by encouraging the use of high quality seed of superior varieties. GCIA also provides quality assurance programs that maintain varietal quality and purity for certain UGARF-licensed varieties.
Terry Hollifield
Contact
representing third party verification of seed varietal purity & quality -
Georgia Seed Development
Georgia Seed Development was created in 1959 by the Georgia General Assembly to produce Foundation seed and plant stock from improved plant varieties developed by scientists at UGA-CAES and provide the seed and sprigs for commercial use. GSD is headquartered in Athens and operates a peanut seed facility in Plains. It also offers its services to plant breeding operations in other states.
Dr. Roger Boerma
Contact
promoting UGA varieties to the marketplace