Preparing a seedbed and seeding rangeland littered with brush debris normally requires extensive land cleanup before conventional equipment can be used. Our 3-year study compared grass densities on seedbeds prepared with an anchor chain, a disk-chain implement, and the disk chain followed by an anchor chain on land rootplowed for mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr. var. glandulosa) control. Seedbeds were aerially seeded with 1 or 2 kg/ha pure live seed of kleingrass (Panicum coloratum L.). Treatments were applied to a clay loam and sandy loam site each year. Evaluations were based on established grass densities at the end of the first growing season. A heavy-duty, offset disk was included in the seedbed preparation methods during the third year. The chain, disk-chain, and disk-chain+chain implements traversed the log-littered sites without difficulty. Seedbeds prepared by disk-chaining+chaining significantly (p < 0.05) increased plant densities by 100% in clay loam soil and 42% in sandy loam soil compared with seedbeds prepared by chaining. However, in the year when rainfall was 43% below normal at the clay loam site, disk-chaining+chaining increased plant densities by 218% compared with chaining. Plant densities on disk-chained seedbeds were lower than those on disk-chained+chained seedbeds in clay loam soil while densities on disk-chained seedbeds were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than densities on disk-chained+chained seedbeds in the sandy loam soil, but densities following disk chaining were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than densities following chaining in both soil types. There was no difference in plant densities between disked and disk-chained+chained seedbeds; consequently, there would be little need to rake up the brush so a disk could be used. The 2 kg/ha seeding rate compared with the 1 kg/ha seeding rate significantly (p < 0.05) increased plant densities by 75% in the clay loam and 98% in the sandy loam soil. The results from this study indicate the value of using the disk-chain+chain implement, and the higher seeding rate to enhance the establishment of a seeded grass, especially when rainfall is in short supply or not timely. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.