The Noble Foundation Pasture Demonstration Farm has one of the longest continually producing fields of double-crop winter pasture and crabgrass known. We have studied numerous combinations and methods of managing the double crop. Doubtless, fall tillage helps the winter pasture and crabgrass, and spring tillage before crabgrass emergence helps the crabgrass. No-till planting of winter pasture in crabgrass stubble produces better stands than the same in bermudagrass or Old World bluestem stubble, but spring tillage is still needed for better crabgrass in no-till fall planting.

When we began double cropping with rye and crabgrass twenty-five years ago on this field, phosphorus and potassium levels were very low. These nutrient levels were increased to high to very high through fertilization. We still applied banded fertilizer with seed at planting, regardless of the nutrient improvements. We believe that the higher nutrient levels gave us winter-pasture planting options other than drilling.

During 1995 and 1996, two planting methods to determine rye forage yields in crabgrass residue were evaluated in the field we had fertilized for many years (table 1).

In adequately moist soil, 'Elbon' rye was planted on September 19 at 102 pounds of live seed per acre. Tandem operations were used to reduce expenses. Starter fertilizer was 12-42-0 N-P2O5-K2O (pounds per acre) and both methods included 100 pounds of nitrogen on September 21 and 45 pounds on February 16, for a total fertilizer application of 157-42-0 N-P2O5-K2O (pounds per acre) for the crop. All nutrients were on an actual nutrient basis.

Forage yields were better when seeds were broadcast, possibly because surface nutrients were adequate and broadcasting distributed the seeds more uniformly than drilling did. Broadcasting may be a valid option whether a drill is available or not, considering equipment and time and labor inputs.