48 CIRCULAR 491, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



every drill width to assist in controlling run-off and to provide a 

 place for spacing buffalo grass sods in conjunction with seeding 

 other grasses the following year. 



Blank listing as a preparation for Sudan grass may be dis- 

 pensed with where the land is level or very sandy and not susceptible 

 to much loss of water by run-off. In these instances a series of 

 smaller furrows may be obtained at less expense by drilling the 

 Sudan grass in 14- to 20-inch rows with one of the new furrow-type 

 grain drills. 



Planting the preparatory crop in wide-spaced lister rows is not ad- 

 visable because the resultant stubble is seldom sufficient to control soil 

 blowing and properly retard surface evaporation while the seedlings 

 of pasture grasses are slowly becoming well-rooted the following 

 spring. 



The preparatory crop of close-drilled Sudan grass usually responds 

 with better stands and more growth when sown at the rate of 15 to 

 20 pounds per acre in May or June than later in the year. Under 

 favorable conditions Sudan grass may be drilled in late summer on 

 land that has been clean-cultivated throughout the season, but some- 

 times the crop fails to make sufficient growth for a satisfactory cover, 

 and occasionally it exhausts the subsoil moisture before stopping 

 growth in the fall. 



It appears essential to cut Sudan grass before it reaches maturity, 

 leaving a stubble 8 to 12 inches high. This promotes vigorous basal 

 growth and usually provides sufficient stubble and crop residue to 

 prevent soil blowing and reduce surface evaporation while the grass 

 seedlings are emerging and becoming established the following spring. 



Spring-sown wheat, oats, barley, or rye may be used to provide 

 noncompetitive surface residue for fall-seeded grasses, although the 

 cover is seldom so effective in controlling blowing and decreasing 

 evaporation as is Sudan grass stubble when grass is planted in the 

 spring. 



Grasses may be seeded alone or in mixtures with other grasses much 

 more successfully, on the average, than with nurse crops. A combi- 

 nation of drilling and broadcasting offers possibilities for greater 

 success in obtaining stands of perennial grasses than either method 

 alone. 



The optimum! depth of seeding most grasses is about 1 inch, with 

 a somewhat shallower depth preferred for small seeds and heavy 

 soils, and deeper planting possible for large seeds and sandy soils. 



Suggested seeding rates for blue grama are 5 to 10 pounds to the 

 acre. Bluestem (western wheatgrassj and other species that spread 

 by underground rootstalks or surface runners may be seeded thinner 

 than the bunch grasses, which depend entirely on seed for increase. 



Most grasses adapted to the region may be sown to best advantage 

 medium early in the spring, after the danger of killing frost is past, 

 and when winds are less prevalent, temperatures higher, and rain- 

 fall more dependable than early in the spring. Cold-resistant spe- 

 cies, such as Canada wild-rye, bluestem (western wheat grass), and 

 Texas bluegrass, respond best to seedings early in the spring or in the 

 fall. Many other grasses may be sown satisfactorily in the fall when 

 moisture conditions are favorable for prompt emergence. 



