GRASS CULTURE AND RANGE IMPROVEMENT 15 



BLUE GRAMA 



Blue grama, despite its extreme tardiness in naturally reclaiming 

 abandoned fields, probably ranks first among well-adapted native 

 species for reseeding cultivated land in the drier parts of the southern 

 Plains. Its possibilities for revegetation purposes were noted by in- 

 vestigators nearly 40 years ago. Lamson-Scribner (42) reported 

 that in 1898 blue grama seemed to be one of the two most promising 

 grasses grown in the testing gardens. He stated (J/.2. p. IJfl) : 



The seed of blue grama is easily harvested, and so far as our experiments 

 go, it grows readily from seed. We believe that the propagation of this grass 

 upon the cattle ranges of the West would greatly improve their value for 

 grazing. 



He (If3) stated in 1899 that blue grama was readily propagated 

 by seed and grows in most any kind of soil. 



Aldous (2) stated that blue grama was one of the most promising 

 grasses to use in revegetating land in western Kansas, and Wilson 

 (74) in 1931 reported that blue grama appeared to be one of the most 

 valuable species for artificial reseeding of range land. The latter 

 reported an average germination of 40.3 percent for seed collected 

 over a 7-year period. In 1930 he used a bluegrass stripper in 

 harvesting blue grama seed. 



In recent years the Soil Conservation Service has adopted and im- 

 proved the stripper method of harvesting blue grama. James E. 

 Smith has clearly demonstrated that viable seed of this species may 

 be gathered satisfactorily in large quantities. This seed was limited 

 to use on demonstration projects, so none was available to the general 

 public until 1937 when farmers began collecting it on a commercial 

 scale. Methods of harvesting the seed and suggestions for its use 

 in erosion control are discussed by Fults {23). 



It is now considered economically feasible for a farmer or rancher 

 to purchase quantities sufficient to attempt extensive seedings. Five 

 to ten pounds per acre may be expected to furnish satisfactory stands 

 under favorable conditions, since each pound contains about 1 million 

 seeds. The use of less seed would reduce the cost, occasionally pro- 

 vide a satisfactory stand, and usually furnish a few plants for nat- 

 ural reseeding. Since this species tends to reseed itself very slowly 

 under natural grazing conditions, reasonably heavy seeding is assur- 

 ance against initial-stand failure and delayed final coverage. 



In 1937 four rates-of -seeding tests of blue grama, each test includ- 

 ing 8 to 10 rates ranging from 1 to more than 20 pounds per acre, 

 were conducted at Woodward. Separate tests were made in variously 

 spaced rows of growing Sudan grass, on rowed kafir stubble with and 

 without a mulch of wheat straw, on sagebrush-infested pastures (re- 

 ceiving different treatments for shrub control), and on rye stubble. 

 The first two seedings were made on April 28 and the last two on 

 May 18 and 22, respectively. Conditions were favorable for prompt 

 emergence on the first date of seeding, but were much less favorable 

 for emergence on the other two, although fair to excellent seedling 

 stands were obtained in most instances from the thicker rates. A 

 severe drought prevailed from shortly after seeding until late in the 

 summer, the growing season (April to September) being the driest 



