cultivated crops, the seed must be matured before the seedbed is pre- 

 pared for the following crop. When Dixie is used in pasture, care 

 should be taken to prevent close grazing at the time of blooming, since 

 it may limit the quantity of seed produced and cause thin fall stands. 

 Summer-growing grasses must be either closely grazed or clipped in 

 fall to give the clover seedlings a chance to become established. 



The seed and plants of Dixie cannot be distinguished from common 

 crimson clover, and the variety may be readily contaminated by 

 either cross-pollination or mechanical mixtures. For these reasons 

 the farmer buying Dixie should buy only certified seed. 



Rate and Time of Seeding 



Under ordinary conditions 12 to 15 pounds of hulled seed to the 

 acre will give good stands unless there is lack of soil moisture. 

 Depending upon the quantity of chaff and pieces of stems, 45 to 60 

 pounds of unhulled seed is comparable with 15 pounds of hulled seed. 

 Crimson clover may be sown from the middle of July until November, 

 depending upon the location, with the expectation of obtaining a good 

 stand. The later it is seeded the less growth can be expected and the 

 more readily winterkilling occurs. Early establishment becomes more 

 important as plantings are extended northward. Seeding crimson 

 clover either immediately before or following heavy rains, if possible, 

 increases its chances of making a stand. Spring planting in or south 

 of the Corn Belt usually results in a short, stunted growth followed by 

 little blossoming and low yield. 



Inoculation 



In many areas where crimson clover has been grown successfully for 

 several years it is not necessary to inoculate the seed with bacterial 

 cultures for the production of nodules. But either the seed or the 

 soil must be inoculated if crimson clover has not been grown. If the 

 plants are not inoculated they will develop slowly, become yellow, 

 and die. Inoculated plants are able to obtain about two-thirds of 

 then nitrogen from the air through then root nodules. The plants 

 may be artificially inoculated by applying cultures of the bacteria to 

 the seed or by scattering soil from a field where inoculated crimson 

 clover has been grown. Two hundred to three hundred pounds per 

 acre of such soil evenly distributed at seeding time is usually sufficient. 



When crimson clover is grown for the first time an additional 

 inoculation treatment is recommended if weather conditions are dry 

 and hot after seeding. This supplemental inoculation consists in 

 mixing commercial cultures with sand, soil, or cottonseed meal and 

 broadcasting the mixture over the soil surface during cloudy, rainy 

 weather as the young seedlings are emerging. A bushel-size culture 

 mixed with 60 pounds of the above-mentioned material is sufficient 

 for an acre if distributed evenly. Soil from a field where inoculated 

 crimson clover has been grown may also be used for the supplemental 

 treatment. 



Unhulled Seed 



Using unhulled common seed increases the chance of obtaining 

 thick stands. When the soil is dry, light rainfall does not cause the 

 unhulled seed to sprout, but hulled seed germinates readily and the 



