1987-01-08_REVISION - M1977493 - Laserfiche WebLink

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C •. Prilled urea and calcium treble superphosphate o:ere added directly to, and olan:ed c.ith, the seeding mixture. The fertilizers c,~ere added in amounts equal to -~ pounds pet acre each of Pt O= and nitrogen. 9 Ideali~~ the_eeder should be capable of planting the t;heatgrasses, winter ::heat, Siberian pea tree, Russian wild rye, and fertilizer in 4-inch-deep fur- ro~:s about 10 inches apart and covered by approximately L/2 inch of the tail- ings. Idea11}• also, the bacterially inoculated legume seeds should be deposited in the same furrow so that their tailings covering is o..^.ly about 1/4 inch deep. By such a procedure (1) the fertilizer is concentrated in the fur- rows readil}- available to the developing seedlings, (2) the seeds are planted at proper depths for optimum germination, and (3) the hummocks between the furrows concentrate moisture about the seedlings. H multipurpose seeder capable of implanting the seeds at differing levels was not available. Three options were possible: (1) To plant all of the seeds to the same depth with the same covering of tailings, (2) to plant the nonlegu~inous mixture with one pass of the seeder and subsequently use a hand- eperated mechanical seed broadcaster to spread the legumes, or (3) to plant the nonleguminous mixture lengthwise of the plot followed by a widthwise plant- ing of the Legumes c:ith subsequent passes of the seeder. Unfortunately, the latter aethod was selected as the preferred procedure. This method, however, had the detrimental effects of (1) pulvering the surface and destroying the hummocks, cahich complicated chemical stabilization and hindered moisture sup- cly relation=_hips, and (2) burying the seeds implanted by the. lengthwise passes too deeply for optimal germination. Figure 1 shows the grader-drawn drill seeder used on one of [he east to west lengthwise passes of the plot. The barrenness of the plot is readily apparent. fdaterinR and Hpplication of Coherex Laboratory studies showed that Coherex was more easily applied and estab- lished a better bond c:ith tailings particles when the tailings were previously rroistened. S:'atering the tailings in an amount approximately equal to a quar- ter inch of precipitation was also deemed worthwhile for initiating seed ger- mination. Initial attempts to water the test area within 2 days of the plant- ing, however, were almost complete failures. The only available means of applying water was.a diesel-driven, 4,000-gallon-capacity mine water truck weighing approximately ZO tons when fully loaded. G'ater was discharged from the truck threush overlapping spray heads on the rear of the truck which per- mitted covering a 60-foot strip with each pass over the planted area. This truck, however, frequently mired down in the tailings and had to be liberated by much shoveling and the use of a Hough loader. This problem coos overcome by riggine the truck to permit spraying water or the Coherex-crater miraure through fireheses so that the truck could be driven along the firmer area on the' periphery cf the plot rather than drivino_ repeatedly over the planted pcr- tio.^, cf -.he oond. _., _' ~K. . -'Y ~: ~._ V 11p~ !^ ~:-i: t _ .~ ~- k ~-: I-~_: i '_ ,,,, ~s t: