SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS 11 



may be cut and spread on galled spots, but the seedlings are likely 

 to come up so thick as to hurt one another. It is better to knock 

 off half or three-fourths of the seed before spreading the plants. 



Rate of Seeding 



Seedings of 15 to 20 pounds of scarified seed per acre have 

 given excellent stands, but in the Soil Conservation Service, where 

 many seedings must be made under adverse conditions and where 

 it is important from the standpoint of erosion control to have a 

 thick stand as eariy as possible, seedings up to 40 or more pounds 

 of scarified seed per acre have been made. Unhulled seed must 

 be used at a heavier rate both because there are fewer seeds per 

 pound and because the percentage of germination will be less. 

 Rates of 40 to 50 pounds of unhulled seed per acre are recom- 

 mended. Seeding in cultivated rows approximately 3 feet apart 

 for seed production requires no more than 2 to 3 pounds of scari- 

 fied seed per acre. 



Time to Seed 



Good stands have been secured by sowing scarified seed any 

 time from March to July, As a rule too early seeding should be 

 avoided as the seedlings are susceptible to frost. At Arlington 

 Experiment Farm, Va., where sericea could be seeded on winter 

 gram, best results followed March or early April seeding. Where 

 success with seeding on grain is doubtful, seeding of sericea 

 may well be delayed until after the crabgrass has sprouted 

 and can be killed. In the South, April seedings have given best 

 results, but May and June seedings have also produced excellent 

 stands. Late June or July seedings in the Southern Piedmont 

 and the Lower South may not produce a harvestable crop the 

 following year. 



Care During the First and Second Year 



A successful stand of sericea requires no attention during the 

 seeding year. Except under very favorable conditions, no crop 

 can be expected the first season. Low-growing weeds as crabgrass 

 are best left alone. They will not hurt the sericea even though 

 they may seem to overgrow it. If, however, the crabgrass is espe- 

 cially vigorous and threatens to mat down, it should be clipped. 

 The mower should be set high enough to miss the sericea. If a 

 seed crop is wanted the first year, planting should be done in 

 rows wide enough apart to cultivate. With proper cultivation, 

 the plants will branch freely, grow 3 to 4 feet high, and produce 

 a good seed crop in the fall of the seeding year. 



In the second season growth begins about the end of April 

 in the latitude of Washington, D. C, and in February in the lower 

 South. Growth is so rapid that in 1 month the plants may be 

 18 or more inches high. With a good stand this growth will 

 suppress all summer weeds. Subsequent treatment will depend 

 on the utilization of the crop. 



