About Oakville Bluegrass
Oakville bluegrass is a permanent cover crop solution.
A Radix Hybrid Bulbosa cultivar, Oakville bluegrass is a cool season grass with reverse season dormancy. It won’t compete with your cash crop for water and nutrients and it’s low growing so it doesn’t interfere with operations.
Growers have been using Oakville bluegrass for several years in vineyards and almond orchards on over 900 acres.
Almond Orchards
Growers can save $50-80 per acre per year, according to data from UC Davis Cost Studies. Orchard managers will see a payback on cover crop installation costs in 2-3 years.
Vineyards
Growers can save up to $800 per acre per year compared to planting, managing and tilling an annual cover crop.
Research trials have shown Oakville bluegrass plantings to have lower annual cultural costs compared with traditional practices. Notably, one fewer vine irrigation event was needed per year in Oakville bluegrass plots compared with barley and fallow.
Key Benefits
Water efficiency and drought tolerance
Oakville bluegrass consumes no water during dormancy. This cycle allows it to complement specialty crops and provide drought resilience rather than competing for water.
It requires no dedicated irrigation and was successfully established and re-emerged in low-rainfall areas of California during the historic 2021 drought. This combination of resiliency paired with emissions-reducing impacts makes the species well-suited for both adapting to and counteracting climate pressures.
Reduced Mowing and Spraying
After following recommended pre-installation and first-year treatments, growers can expect Oakville bluegrass to serve as a natural weed suppressant without the use of herbicides. It harnesses the long-term soil health and dust reduction benefits of no-till, and as a low-growth perennial it requires no more than one annual mowing.
Soil Carbon Quantification
Oakville bluegrass helps to curb and lower atmospheric greenhouse gas levels through soil carbon sequestration and reductions in operational inputs. Farmers can get those impacts quantified by climate-tech startup Vitidore.
Positive Impact on Climate
Soil’s capacity for storing carbon rivals that of the atmosphere, making soil and biomass management a game-changing tactic for combating climate change. Oakville bluegrass lowers the cost of entry to cover cropping and allows farmers to reap natural benefits along with collecting direct financial incentives.
Farmers can incorporate the overlooked space between their crop rows as a sustainable and agronomically-beneficial resource.