18 MISC. PUBLICATION 99 2, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



of grass per acre in the mountain brush to 134 pounds in the aspen. 

 Stands from nonpelleted seed yielded from 9 pounds per acre in the 

 juniper-piny on to 251 pounds in the aspen. The better stands in the 

 aspen were attributed to leaf fall covering the seed. Nonpelleted 

 seed produced from 15 to 165 times as many seedlings as did pelleted 

 seed. 



Experimental field seeding. — In 1955, sample yields from the 

 experimental broadcast seeding in the mountain-brush type of vege- 

 tation were as follows: 



Yield (pounds per acre) 



Seeding method No tillage Plowed Burned 



2 pellets per square foot 1 136 182 



Nonpelleted seed 77 652 710 



It was concluded that yields of herbage on the mountain brush 

 plots increased in proportion to the amount that tillage reduced 

 competition with native plants and provided seed covering. Also, 

 seed in compressed pellets did not have any advantage over nonpel- 

 leted seed in improving grass stands in any of the four range types 

 (Bleak and Hull, 1958). 



Skull Valley, Utah 



Skull Valley, a broad, gently sloping valley 40 miles southwest of 

 Grantsville, Utah, is dominated mostly by shadscale with some 

 patches of sagebrush and greasewood. Cheatgrass is the major 

 understory vegetation. Elevation is 4,600 feet, and precipitation is 

 approximately 8 inches annually. Soils are deep, light gray, and a 

 fine to medium texture. 



Procedures 



Large-scale seeding. — Compressed earthen pellets were broad- 

 cast by airplane on 16,000 acres in October and November 1948, 

 mostly on an unprepared seedbed. However, 1,000 acres were 

 scarified before broadcasting and 500 acres after broadcasting to kill 

 existing vegetation. Crested wheatgrass and yellow sweetclover 

 were used at a ratio of 3:1. There was an average of 0.72 pellet 

 per square foot with 6.1 seeds per pellet. This amounted to 1% 

 pounds of seed per acre. 



Experimental field seeding.— Sixty acres, half of which were 

 scarified before seeding, were broadcast to nonpelleted seed. A 

 K-acre plot was seeded to extruded pellets and another %-acre plot to 

 coated pellets. 



