The high costs and the low probability of success in reseeding grasses, make this practice to be considered as the last option for rangeland rehabilitation. In Mexico, buying the seed is one of the factors that contribute to the cost increment of reseeding. The aim of the study was to determine the optimum seeding density (SD) to maximize the establishment and forage production of weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula, var. Ermelo). The experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions during 120 d where four SD were compared. One of the treatments consisted of a SD of 1.5 kg ha-1 of pure live seed (SD 100%), and was defined based on the recommendations of several researchers and because it is the SD commonly used. The other densities were defined based on the SD 100 and were estimated as SD 50%, SD 75% and SD 125%. The seed quantity was adjusted according the percentage of the pure live seed of the lot. Seeding was evenly distributed and the seed was placed at a depth of 0.3-0.7 cm. The plots of 0.16 m2 were distributed in randomized blocks with four replications in a pool of 0.7 m of sandy loam soil. The variables evaluated were: dry matter of the first cut at 60 d (DM1), dry matter of the second section 120 d (DM2) and survival rate (SV%). Statistical analysis was conducted in SAS 9.1.3 under MIXED procedure and ORTHO CONTRAST with ? = 0.05. For DM1 no difference was found (P> 0.05) among SD; 2881 � 387, 3235 � 387, 3582 � 387 and 3992 � 387 (for SD 100, SD 50, SD 75 and SD 125, respectively). In addition, DM2 also showed no difference (P> 0.05) in SD; 629 � 107, 652 � 107, 659 � 107 and 602 � 107 (for SD 100, SD 50, SD 75 and SD 125, respectively). In SV% differences were not observed (P> 0.05) among SD; 29, 35, 33 and 33% of SV (for SD 100, SD 50, SD 75, SD 125, respectively). The SD 50 and SD 75 did not present a decrement of forage production and plant survival. Furthermore, SD 125 did not show an increment of forage production or plant survival. The same yields and plant setting with a reduced planting density was obtained in this study. Furthermore, reducing the SD for weeping lovegrass can significantly reduce costs
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.