Forage Establishment
 

Field Selection

Soils
Suitable forage species are available for all types of Manitoba soils and moisture conditions. Use Tables 16 and 17 as a guide for selecting hay and pasture forages for different soil conditions.

Weeds
Perennial weeds are difficult to control in seedling forages, and should be controlled before establishment.

Seed Bed Preparation
If conventional tillage practices are being used, prepare a fine, firm, shallow seed bed.

Increasingly, forage growers are successfully establishing forage stands without tillage. Benefits of zero-tillage forage establishment are:

• lower costs and less labour;
• better seed bed moisture conservation;
• standing "dead mulch" protects an emerging crop from drying-out and sandblasting.

 

Seeding

Inoculation
Treating legume seeds with an appropriate inoculant ensures good nitrogen (N) fixation, and should be carried out before seeding. Inoculant contains living rhizobium bacteria, and must be handled carefully to ensure viability. Keep inoculant in the sealed original container, store in a refrigerator until required and do not expose to direct sunlight. Plant immediately after inoculation. If seeding is interrupted, store seed in a cool, dark place and resume seeding when possible.

Pre-inoculated seed is also available. Store seed in a cool, dark place to keep the inoculant viable.

Each legume or group of legumes requires a specific species of Rhizobium bacteria for N fixation. Ensure that the inoculant you buy is appropriate for the crop being seeded.

Alfalfa group	alfalfa and sweet clover
Clover group	for red clover, white clover and alsike clover
Birdsfoot Trefoil	birdsfoot trefoil only
Sainfoin	sainfoin only

Seed Coating

Grasses, which are very light in weight, are difficult to seed. To improve the seed flow characteristics, these seeds are frequently encased within a coating of heavier material. This material is usually an inert substance, such as clay, mixed with some fertilizer to promote rapid establishment of the stand. When using coated seed, it is important to adjust the seeding rate to account for the coating.

Time of Seeding

Spring Seeding
The best time to seed forages is in the early spring, as soon as field conditions permit. The cool, moist conditions of early spring are most favourable for the germination and growth of both grasses and legumes. The moist conditions also allow for a shallow seeding depth, which is very important for quick establishment of the forage crop.

Summer Seeding
If there is adequate moisture, forages can be seeded from late July to mid-August. During this period, grasses only should be. The legumes require a longer growing period to ensure winter survival.

Dormant Fall Seeding
Dormant seeding can be attempted when the soil temperatures approach the freezing point and germination is unlikely. The seed germinates in the spring when the growing conditions will be close to ideal. However, an early snowfall can raise the soil temperatures sufficiently to cause the seed to germinate in the fall and die over winter. Use dormant seeding in problem areas that are not suitable for seeding in the spring and summer.

Seeding Equipment

Disc Drills Disc drills will work well, provided the seed is not placed too deep. Use depth-control bands mounted on discs, or release down-pressure from discs to let them float on a soil surface. Another option is to remove downspouts and drop seed in front of discs or hoes, allowing soil thrown up by the openers to cover the seed. Alternatively, seed tubes can be moved back to drop seed behind the openers, in front of the press wheels.	Disc Drill
Discer Seeders Discer seeders are not recommended for seeding forages, as they generally seed too deep.
Broadcast Seeding Broadcast seeding is satisfactory when seed is spread uniformly and packed properly. Spinner spreaders do not spread seed uniformly, especially when a seed mixture is used. Valmar or other air flow-systems offer more uniform distribution.	Broadcast Seeder
Sod Seeding Drills There are several brands of drills available that are designed to seed into an existing sod. Both hoe and disc type drills work well. The key is shallow, uniform seeding.	Sod Seeding Drill
Drum Seeders Drum seeders work well where stones are a problem. Forage seed is metered from a seed box in front of a large roller, which when weighted with water will pack down stones and firm the seed bed.

 

Seed Metering
If seed box agitation is not available, many forage grasses will bridge over seed cups, causing skips. To reduce bridging, do not fill seed box above half full. Alternatively, mix seed with cracked wheat (one part cracked wheat; two parts grass seed). Some growers are successfully using phosphate fertilizer as a carrier. If this is done, ensure that seeding takes place immediately after mixing with the fertilizer. Where drills or airflow devices have a countershaft over the seed cups, placing pipe clamps on the countershaft will improve seed flow.

Pack the seed bed after seeding, especially when broadcast seeding, to ensure good seed-to-soil contact, and to bring moisture to the soil surface. Use a harrow packer, harrow or roller.

Seeding Depth
Seed shallow (1/4 to 1 inch) into a firm seed bed. Seed at 1/4 inch for small-seeded forages, such as timothy, on heavy soils. Seed deeper for large-seeded forages, such as intermediate wheatgrass or alfalfa, on lighter soils.

Seeding Rates
Refer to Table 16 and Table 17 for hay and pasture seeding mixes.

Refer to Table 15 for seeding rates and to page 7 for detailed instructions on seeder calibration.

Companion Crops
Cover crops compete severely with the forage crop for light, moisture and nutrients, reducing winter survival and yield the following year. However, they are often used to reduce weed competition, sandblasting and desiccation. If they are used, reduce seeding rate and nitrogen rates by half, and harvest as green feed if possible to reduce competition.

Table 15: Hay and pasture seed calibration table

Crop	Seeds/lb (000's)	Number of seeds/yd of Row at 1 lb/acre			Seeding Rate for Pure Forage Strands lb/acre
		Row Spacing
		6-inch	8-inch	12-inch
Alfalfa	200	6	8	13	8
Alsike Clover	700	21	28	42	3
Red Clover	800	8	11	17	8
White Clover	800	23	33	50	3
Sweet Clover	260	8	10	16	8
Birdsfoot Trefoil	375	11	16	23	4
Meadow Bromegrass	80	2	3	4	8
Smooth Bromegrass	136	4	6	8	6
Intermediate Wheatgrass	88	3	4	6	8
Slender Wheatgrass	160	5	7	10	6
Tall Wheatgrass	80	2	3	4	8
Crested Wheatgrass	190	5	7	11	8
Meadow Fescue	230	7	10	14	8
Tall Fescue	227	7	10	14	8
Creeping Red Fescue	615	18	25	37	6
Meadow Foxtail	577	17	24	36	6
Creeping Foxtail	753	23	31	47	5
Orchard Grass	650	20	27	39	6
Timothy	1,230	37	50	73	2
Reed Canary	530	16	22	33	6

 

Table 16: Hay and pasture seeding mixes

	Seeding Rates (lb/acre) at different soil moisture
Forage Species	Dry		Ideal				Wet				Saline
Alfalfa	6	6	8	6	6	6					3	3
Alsike Clover							3	2
Red Clover									3
Sweet Clover											3	3
Smooth Brome Grass	4
Meadow Brome Grass				4
Intermediate Wheatgrass		4				4
Orchard Grass					3
Timothy			2	2	2		2	2	2	2
Crested Wheatgrass
Reed Canary								4	4	3
Slender Wheatgrass											5
Tall Wheatgrass											5
Tall Fescue										5		5
Total (lb/Acre)	10	10	10	12	11	10	5	8	9	10	16	11

 

Table 17: Hay and pasture seeding mixes

For further information, contact your GO representative.