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Borders between fields and woods can be planted to winter-grazing crops. 



You can maintain a chufa field by 

 disking and fertilizing it each spring. 



Deer, raccoons, and squirrels eat the 

 tubers. Chufa is a hard crop to grow 

 in fields of 1 acre or less if raccoons 

 are numerous or if turkeys feed regu- 

 larly in summer. Both of them dig the 

 tubers and may destroy the stand by 

 feeding on them in spring and summer. 

 A field of 3 to 5 acres usually with- 

 stands turkey grazing. Raccoons that 

 are troublesome can be trapped in ac- 

 cordance with State game regulations. 



Bahiagrass. Turkeys strip the seeds of 

 bahiagrass from the ripe seed heads in 

 July, August, or September. One acre 

 of bahiagrass is enough for a flock of 

 turkeys, but the grass must be protected 

 from cattle which also eat the seed 

 heads. Sow 20 pounds of seed per acre 

 in the spring. Drill the seed a half to 

 an inch deep on a well-prepared seed- 

 bed. Fertilize with 400 pounds per acre 

 of 8-8-8 fertilizer. Lime as needed to 

 make the pH 6.0 or 6.5. 



Cowpeas, millets, peanuts, grain sorghums, 

 annual lespedezas, and soybeans. All of 

 these are choice turkey foods for sum- 

 mer and fall but at these seasons extra 

 food is seldom needed. Small plantings 

 of cowpeas and soybeans usually are de- 



stroyed by deer. Grain sorghum attracts 

 blackbirds, cowbirds, grackles, and spar- 

 rows, which eat most of the seed. Also, 

 it mildews badly afield in humid weather. 

 Browntopmillet (Panicum ramosum), an 

 annual, is the best of the millets. Its 

 value is to hold a turkey flock and feed 

 it in July, August, or September (be- 

 fore the blackbirds flock heavily). You 

 can use peanuts or browntopmillet as a 

 substitute for the perennial bahiagrass. 



On field edges near woods unharvested 

 strips of corn, wheat, or other choice tur- 

 key food may be left for wild turkeys. 



Your soil conservationist can help you 

 select the kinds of grasses, grains, and 

 legumes that grow best in your climate 

 and soil. He can also tell you the best 

 season and method of planting and the 

 kind of fertilizer to use. 



Improving Woodlands for 

 Wild Turkeys 



Within the woodland itself controlled 

 burning, brush control, thinning trees, 

 seeding grasses and legumes in open- 

 ings, and leaving food-producing trees 

 and shrubs are ways of providing more 

 food and better feeding conditions for 

 wild turkeys. 



