Rootplowing and Seeding Arid Rangelands in the Southwest

Abstract

Twenty-three seedings were made across southern New Mexico following rootplowing of creosotebush or tarbush. Because of the harsh environment, equipment was used that in a single operation killed the brush, formed basin pits, planted the seed on a firm seedbed, and windrowed the dead brush over the seeded area. Good to excellent stands were obtained on 10 plots; 4 had fair stands. Many of the failures were related to highly erosive or droughty sites, or to soils that form a hard surface crust. Even under droughty conditions, there generally was a good stand of the seeded species where brush cover coincided with a low place where water was concentrated. The species most easily established on the sandy to loamy sites infested with creosotebush were Lehmann and Boer lovegrass, black and sideoats grama, yellow bluestem, blue panic, and fourwing saltbush. On heavier soils, the best species were sideoats grama, yellow bluestem, and alkali sacaton. The exact seed mixture for any site depends on management objectives.