296 



FIELD CROP PRODUCTION 



sown in the spring, it is most commonly seeded in the 

 summer or early fall. If seeded in the summer or fall, 

 it matures seed the next year about the time of wheat 

 harvest. If seeded in the spring, the seeds are matured 



late the following fall. 

 When seeded alone, it 

 may be put in with 

 the grain drill at the 

 rate of about 40 

 pounds per acre. It 

 is best, however, to 

 use only about 25 or 

 30 pounds of vetch 

 and add to it about 

 4 pecks of rye, this 

 combination making a 

 desirable crop for for- 

 age or green manure. 

 The time of the seed- 

 ing will depend upon 

 the preceding crop. 

 If it follows early 

 potatoes, the seeding 

 may be done as soon 

 as the potatoes are 

 harvested. If corn 

 precedes it, it may 

 either be drilled in 

 the standing corn or seeded after the corn is cut. Unless 

 the corn is an early variety, allowing early cutting, the 

 season may be too far advanced for a successful seeding 

 of vetch. When grown for seed, the rate of seeding 

 should not be more than 2 pecks per acre. The yield 



FIG. 106. A sample of hairy vetch. 



