Disk chain effects on seeded grass establishment

Abstract

Preparing a seedbed and seeding rangeland littered with brush debris normally requires extensive land cleanup before conventional equipment can be used. Our 3-year study compared grass densities on seedbeds prepared with an anchor chain, a disk-chain implement, and the disk chain followed by an anchor chain on land rootplowed for mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr. var. glandulosa) control. Seedbeds were aerially seeded with 1 or 2 kg/ha pure live seed of kleingrass (Panicum coloratum L.). Treatments were applied to a clay loam and sandy loam site each year. Evaluations were based on established grass densities at the end of the first growing season. A heavy-duty, offset disk was included in the seedbed preparation methods during the third year. The chain, disk-chain, and disk-chain+chain implements traversed the log-littered sites without difficulty. Seedbeds prepared by disk-chaining+chaining significantly (p < 0.05) increased plant densities by 100% in clay loam soil and 42% in sandy loam soil compared with seedbeds prepared by chaining. However, in the year when rainfall was 43% below normal at the clay loam site, disk-chaining+chaining increased plant densities by 218% compared with chaining. Plant densities on disk-chained seedbeds were lower than those on disk-chained+chained seedbeds in clay loam soil while densities on disk-chained seedbeds were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than densities on disk-chained+chained seedbeds in the sandy loam soil, but densities following disk chaining were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than densities following chaining in both soil types. There was no difference in plant densities between disked and disk-chained+chained seedbeds; consequently, there would be little need to rake up the brush so a disk could be used. The 2 kg/ha seeding rate compared with the 1 kg/ha seeding rate significantly (p < 0.05) increased plant densities by 75% in the clay loam and 98% in the sandy loam soil. The results from this study indicate the value of using the disk-chain+chain implement, and the higher seeding rate to enhance the establishment of a seeded grass, especially when rainfall is in short supply or not timely.