It is helpful to calibrate planting equipment before planting to approximate proper rates and avoid problems such as waste and replanting. For simplicity, I present only one procedure, and it applies to most planting methods used. You can obtain other procedures from the planter operation information, the Noble Foundation, or other agricultural advisory services.

First, spread a 10-by-10-foot tarp on even ground out of the wind and secure all edges. Set the planter to the approximate setting needed. Start operation of the planter far enough from the tarp to allow proper seed flow when the planter passes over the tarp. Pass the planter over the tarp. Use the same seed or seed mix to be planted. Carefully gather the seed or seed-bulk mix that's on the tarp and weigh it in grams or ounces. Grams are more accurate.

Calculate the bulk rate per acre as follows: grams x 0.96 or ounces x 27.2 = pounds of bulk seed per acre. Calculate the actual bulk seed in the total bulk if the seed is mixed with something else. Convert the bulk rate per acre to a pure-live-seed basis by using the test results for that seed. If the planter is over 10 feet wide, you don't need corrections in the calculations, but if it is less, correct the calculated rate per acre to the width of your planter. Use the following equation:

(pounds per acre from 10-foot tarp ÷ width of the smaller planter swath [feet]) x 10 = corrected pounds of bulk per acre

Reset the planter if necessary. Retest and continue until calibration is near the rate desired. Make final determinations during actual planting. Some resetting may be needed.

Plant Old World bluestem on prepared seedbeds or use no-till planting. Plant all seeds, regardless of planting method, on the contour for better erosion control.

Figure 9. A relatively weed free, good, young, developing stand of Old World bluestem on an initially deep moldboard-plowed seedbed (left); the adjacent young stand already infested with broad-leaved and grassy weeds on adisked seedbed (right).

Figure 10. An example of excellent, freshly completed, clean seedbeds ready to plant. Note the foot-track test on the left. The seedbed on the right was finished with a 10-inch iron drag.

Planting Old World bluestems on a well-prepared seedbed is much preferred, barring some erosion, climate, labor, or equipment considerations. Sometimes these factors dictate the need to plant with some form of no-tillage approach.

The earlier the seedbed preparation, the more deeply the bed is tilled via moldboard plowing, deep disking, and the like, and the finer it is finished, the better the weed control, final seedbed, and initial grass establishment. There are, no doubt, some exceptions, but this response is normal.

Research has illustrated such responses (W. Matizha and B. E. Dahl, personal communication). This western Texas work and Noble Foundation research showed that with deeper, more thorough, early tillage, there were fewer weedy plants, and overall weeping lovegrass or 'Plains' bluestem establishment was improved (figure 9). Early tillage encourages early decomposition of plant residue and therefore reduces allelopathic influences (inhibition) and increases nutrient responses.

The goal is to have a clean, firm, friable, weed free, fresh seedbed at planting. You can use numerous tillage tools to prepare the seedbed. Begin its preparation in the fall to early winter when possible for added weed control and ease of preparation. If massive amounts of residue are on the area, burning it before tillage will facilitate the seedbed preparation and often reduce weedy plant problems later. A freshly completed seedbed is crucial for a good seedbed at planting (figure 10). Spiketooth harrows, cultipackers, rolling cultivators, other roller-packers, and homemade iron or other drags are excellent tools to complete final seedbed preparation. If the bed has been rain-settled and sealed, do a light surface retillage. Stands increased up to threefold in broadcast, western-Texas, semiarid, rangeland plantings when the seedbed was finished with a chain-diker (Jones Manufacturing, Vernon, Texas) that was preceded with a disk or disk chain (Wiedemann and Smallacombe, 1989).

A good guide for determining whether the finished seedbed is firm enough is to walk on it. If the track left in the soil is deeper than 1/2 inch, the seedbed is still too loose (figure 10), which is often the case on soft sandy soils. Initial deep seedbed preparation on these soils should be done as soon as feasible with enough advance time to allow rain to help firm the tilled soil and with final tillage very shallow.

All other things being equal, early grass establishment and production is better on prepared seedbeds versus untilled soil. Seed is usually placed on top of the soil on prepared seedbeds, but depth-controlled seed placement is desirable if it can be achieved. Rolling or cultipacking after seeds are on the soil achieves the desired light coverage of the seed.

All information relative to seedbed preparation is for suitable soils. Sandy soils or semiarid climates may require other approaches. Some seedbed preparation is desirable even on rocky soils if at all feasible.

No-till planting is planting on an untilled area, often by using specialized equipment (figure 5). Tread-in planting is planting the seed on the area and using livestock to tread it into the soil surface (figure 5). These plantings are often done in small-grain residue, but many types of residue bases are used.

The primary reason to use no-till or tread-in to plant is wind and water erosion control on sandy land and evaporation control in more arid areas. Other advantages include being able to plant on firm soil in a loose sandy soil, better soil moisture relationships when adequate residue is on the surface, fewer weed problems, especially if herbicides are used at planting, and possible time-labor and initial cost savings. Philosophically, there is no seedbed preparation, but in reality there is a mini-seedbed at the point of seed placement in all these methods. Another means of accomplishing some wind erosion control is to plant Old World bluestem seed mixed with German millet, forage sorghums, crabgrass, or other suitable companion grasses at a very light seeding rate.

Success of no-till and tread-in plantings seems to be dictated more by spring rainfall than by clean seedbeds prepared early. The seedlings in no-till plantings generally develop much slower and cover between the rows more slowly than plantings on prepared seedbeds. No-till plantings are confined to tight rows for many years in some cases.

We have not succeeded in developing mixed stands from no-till planting into native range in fair to good condition. Native-grass competition was presumably too severe. Exceptions were stands that survived where native grass was adequately disturbed (figures 3 and 4).

For no-till planting, you must have adequate residue for erosion control but not so much that proper seed placement in the soil or easy Old World bluestem seedling emergence and establishment are prevented. Too much residue is suppressive. Sorghums and winter small grain residues are allelopathic. There is evidence that these residues may have reduced stand percentages of Old World bluestem in some cases. Residue should be just adequate to cover the soil surface to accomplish wind erosion and evaporation control.

Treat the area with a herbicide to control all vegetation just before planting. Paraquat (Gramoxone), glyphosate (Roundup), and 2,4-D-glyphosate (Landmaster) are excellent choices. Choose the herbicide to control the vegetation present. The herbicide application is often crucial to the success of this method, but some plantings fail even with herbicide treatments. It is unwise to no-till plant without herbicides. Preemergence herbicides are not approved for Old World bluestem planting use. Also refer to the weed control information about herbicides.

Oklahoma Natural Resources Conservation Service personnel have encountered several no-till planting failures that appear to be caused by some sort of reaction to glyphosate, wheat residue, or pathogens (M. Moseley, personal communication). The actual cause could not be ascertained, so be aware that some risk is involved.

Plant the seed at the recommended dates and rates and use special equipment that will place the seed into a furrow about 1/2 inch deep. Seed must get on and into the soil, not just lie on the residue. Firm the furrow with a press wheel. Banded starter fertilizer is recommended along with follow-up weed control and top-dressed nitrogen application.

The most important reasons for using tread-in planting are reduction in initial costs, labor savings, erosion control, and lack of equipment. More precision planting and fertilization will likely develop better, higher-yielding, early stands. Much acreage, especially in the sandy soil of western Oklahoma and Texas, has been established to Old World bluestem through this technique (Chet Dewald, personal communication). Tread-in planting has also been used following dozer and herbicide brush control. There are innumerable situations for which to consider its use.

Refer to residue statements in the no-till planting information. The major residue used in the tread-in planting is various small grains. Wheat is commonly used. Plant the seed at the usual recommended rates, dates, and depths. Either broadcast or row-planted procedures can be used.

Graze the small-grain forage before and after planting until it is grazed out in May. Maintain about a 4-inch minimum residue in grazing rotations and at the end of the grazing. The livestock tread in the seed, firm the final seedbed, consume wheat and some weeds, and provide a salable product from the winter forage.
Fertilization, weed control, and other inputs apply when you use tread-in techniques.