30 



MISC. PUBLICATION 9 9 2, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



it 



to pellet 1.2 pounds of seed per acre, 30 cents for seed, 55 cents for 

 flying, and 15 cents for other costs, for a total of $2.40 per acre. Ten 

 pounds of seed broadcast by airplane on this project cost $3.47 per 

 acre, but gave much better stands than did two pellets per square 

 foot at $4.80 per acre (Bleak and Phillips, 1950; Bleak and Hull, 

 1958). 



Besides the cost of pelleting there is the additional weight of the 

 pelleting materials. With a seed-earthen pellet ratio of 1:60, such ; |j 

 as for crested wheatgrass, this is 60 times more weight to haul and 

 distribute. On coated seeds the ratio is 1:5, still an expensive item. 



Table 5. — Seeding costs and returns from a 2-year-old stand of crested 

 wheatgrass from seeding by various methods (6 pounds of seed or seed 

 equivalent per acre) 



Seeding method 



Plowed seedbed: 



Drilled seed 



Airplane broadcast seed__ 

 Airplane broadcast pellets 

 Burned seedbed: 



Drilled seed 



Airplane broadcast seed__ 

 Airplane broadcast pellets 



Cost per acre 



Dollars 



6. 



90 



6. 



00 



11. 



40 



3. 



65 



2. 



75 



8. 



15 



Air-dry grass 

 per acre 



Pounds 

 487 

 125 

 146 



154 

 17 

 11 



Grass per year 

 per dollar 

 invested 



Pounds 



71 

 21 

 13 



42 

 6 



1 



Source: Table 7, Hull (1959). 



SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 



This publication brings together all the available documented 

 information on pellet seeding of western rangelands including (1) 

 16 large-scale range seedings totaling more than 180,000 acres, (2) 

 widespread experimental field tests, and (3) numerous laboratory 

 and greenhouse studies. Compressed earthen pellets and coated 

 seed pellets were used in the seedings, which covered a wide range 

 of conditions during the 16-year period 1946-61. Extruded seed 

 pellets were used in one test in 1951. 



Large-scale airplane seedings with compressed earthen pellets and 

 with coated pellets were made during five seasons. Of the 16 seedings 

 reported, 10 were declared failures and the remaining 6 unsatisfactory. 

 Most of the seedings were re-examined during one or more years 

 after they were initially classified as failures or unsatisfactory, and 

 14 of the 16 were examined again in 1961. The seedings did not 

 improve with additional time. 



