Planting a new forage crop involves more than just spreading seed on the ground.
The first step in deciding what forage species you need to plant is to decide what management care you will give it. Just as a luxury car will not hold up to farm truck use, many nice to have species will not endure rugged survivalist management. Too often we wish for and throw in some of this or that but have not made a commitment to the fertility, grazing control, cutting heights, etc., that reduce stress on the plants. Plants that are already weakened due to mismanagement stand little chance of making it through that next drought or competing with the weeds that get the upper hand. Well managed grazing systems naturally develop more diversity of species without seeding when the management favors all species.
Once you’ve decided what to plant, you can proceed with how to plant it. Application of nutrients, seed placement, timing and competition control are all important in a successful establishment. Improper conditions leave the seedling environment only as strong as its weakest link. New seedlings not only have to cope with the stress of getting established, but often have to endure whatever made the existing stand weak in the first place.
Supplying the proper nutrients for the new seedlings begins with a good soil test rather than a guess. This will tell you where your fertilizer dollar is best spent and how near optimum the levels are for the plants desired. Lime to correct soil acidity should be applied up to six months ahead of seeding or be well incorporated with soil particles during seedbed preparation. Fertilizer should be applied up to three months prior to seeding except for nitrogen. Nutrients placed on the surface at seeding do not help the seedling. The roots are below the nutrients and the seedling dies before nutrients have time to work down to the root zone for uptake.
Seeds can be drilled or broadcast and seedbeds can be worked or not. Seeding rates are usually adjusted to account for the combination of seeding methods you have chosen. Drills provide more accurate seed metering and depth placement if in good condition and attention is paid to what the equipment is doing. No-till drilling is a good option if the ground is already smooth and you take the necessary steps to account for nutrient placement and competition control. It is not just a shortcut to save time. Rough surface ground should have a worked seedbed to smooth, so you will be more inclined to maintain the future stand. In general, seeds should be placed at 2 to 3 times the seed diameter in good contact with the soil particles. One quarter to three eighths inch works well for most cool season grasses and legumes. See associated table for common species and pure live seed (pls) rates to measure quantity and quality.
There are basically three good months for seeding. January for dormant seeding on the surface, works for legume seeds because freezing and thawing allows the smooth, heavy seeds to work into the ground. This is not as good for the lighter grass seeds which tend to remain on the surface, except for most warm season grasses which need to be kept very shallow anyway. April for spring seeding allows enough seedling development to endure summer heat. This is good for all seeding types. September for fall seeding gives enough seedling development to survive freezing. Warm season plants such as lespedeza and warm season grasses should never be fall seeded.
Controlling competition for the new seedlings is crucial to their survival. Existing endophyte infected tall fescue is almost never killed without chemical use. Its rugged survivalist nature is what made it popular. Tillage will control most other vegetation with a light discing desirable for legume interseeding. New weed seeds that sprout along with the forages need to have the canopy sprayed, clipped or flash grazed to prevent shading and robbing of moisture and nutrients.
Given the proper procedures without cutting corners, seeding usually succeeds.
Myron Hartzell, NRCS Grassland Specialist at the Dallas County Service Center in Buffalo, Mo.
Editors Note: Revised for Arkansas forages by Dr. John Jennings, University of Arkansas Extension professor and forage specialist.
