Laserfiche WebLink
Key #3 - Seed Placement <br />The seeding equipment should provide proper seed depth, uniform seeding rate, and good seed to soil contact. Grass seed can <br />be broadly categorized into three types; fluffy or chaffy, smooth small seed, and smooth large seed. Grass drills arc equipped with <br />separate boxes to properly place and meter each of the three seed types. Picker wheels and agitators in the fluffy/chaffy box and <br />oversized feeder tubes keep rough coated seed flowing evenly. Depth bands on grass drills are essential for planting depth control. <br />Press/packer wheels contribute to close seed/soil contact. Free flowing grass seed (e.g. wheatgrass) can be successfully planted with a <br />small grain drill if proper, shallow, and consistent seeding depth is maintained. <br />Drills should be calibrated to monitor seeding rate. Seeding rate can be determined by counting dropped seeds alter traveling a <br />given distance on a hard surface, collecting seed from openers after traveling a given distance, or turning the drive wheel on the drill <br />and collecting seed from ppeners. Contact the local NRCS office for additional information. <br />picker wheel <br />ogrrarors <br />presslpdcker wheel <br />Key #4- Seed Q a ity <br />All seed must meet the requirement of the States, seed laws. The geed should be tested for purity and germination. Purity <br />speei fies any weeds and inert matter in the seer] lot. Germination is an indication of the percentage of seed that will sprout and grow. <br />Seed is usually purchased and planted on a Pure Live Seed (PLS) basis. This is calculated by multiplying purity by germination <br />(including dormant). A high PLS usually indicates high qual4y seed. Seed of adapted species and recommended cultivars within the <br />species should be planted. It is best to select cultivars whose origin is closest to the planting site when seeding warm -season grasses. <br />Cool -season species aro more broadly adapted. Your local NItCS office can provide information on adapted species, varieties, and <br />seeding rates. <br />Seed with awns or otber appendages is called "fluffy" or bearded. Debearded seed has part or all of the appendages removed and <br />is more flowable. Flowability depends on degree of debearding. <br />—� ti Key #5 - Weed Control --� - - - <br />Weeds compete for moisture and light with young seedlings. Competitive weeds can be controlled mechanically by clipping or <br />chemically. Dense residue clippings should be removed from the seeded area. Weeds should be controlled with herbicides before <br />they reach 4 inches tall. <br />t4 <br />The two main reasons grass seedings fail <br />are planting too deep and lack of weed control. <br />For mare Information, contact: <br />USDA-NRCS Plant Materials tenter <br />3308 University Drive <br />Bisrparck, ND 58504 <br />Phone: (701) 2504330 <br />Fax: (701) 250-4334 <br />http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov <br />+Q.tl 'bw7s Yircc.WfAr Ptf,W' G ?gt,df�p�rlfty,aAd iJ,rrrupp�hcabkr Iac <br />d kkefs, + nY yr bymwr cJP er m6rM�7,,drrXdr,a14 fa aar Lr A <br />'�Kvtii+Yci�e7geh've�eeerJ6rc,6nne�ei�voda*zw,e.�.ti�u�fnr �1„�r�.�tf. <br />revlsed July 2010 <br />10 <br />