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69th SWCS International Annual Conference July 27-30, 2014 Lombard, IL
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SWCS 2014
COVER CROPS 101
SEEDINGMETHODS&CRITERIAFORMAKINGTHEBESTSEEDINGDECISION
2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com
SEEDING TECHNIQUES
FACTORSDICTATINGtheSEEDINGMETHOD
• Goalcandictatethetypeofseedingmethodused
• CalendarhasaHUGErole• Typeofseedbeingplanted(seedsize)• Weather
2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com
2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com
SEEDING METHODS
• Drill/Planterbehindtractor– Ensuresthebestseed‐to‐soilcontactandidealenvironmentforthequickestgermination.
– Allowsforpreciseseedingbychangingseedplatesandplanterequipment,aswellaspermittingchangesfromrowtorow.
– Notanoptionuntilthestandingcrophasbeenremovedorharvested.
2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com
• Usinginsecticideboxes‐ Justlikegranularinsecticides,many
small‐seededcovercropscanbemetereddirectlyin‐furroworbandedjustinfrontofpresswheel
‐ Settingthedoublediskopenersabout½”to¾”deep&placingseedin‐furrowwillgivebestseed‐to‐soilcontact
– Herbicidescanbesprayedovertherowforsodsuppressionatthesametimetheseedisplanted
SEEDING METHODS
2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com
SEEDING METHODS
• SeedermountedonTillageTool– Becomingmorewidespreadaspracticeallowslighttillageandseedinginonepass
– Seedspreadusingthismethodwillbelightlyincorporated,increasingseed‐to‐soilcontact
2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com
SEEDING METHODS
• BroadcastApplication– Verycommonpractice
• Spreadwithfertilizerbyretailer• ATVseeder
– Challengewiththismethodisensuringapplicationratesareevenandthatseedisspreadevenlyacrossthewidthofthepattern
– Largerseededcropsmayneedmoreseedtosoilcontact
2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com
2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com
SEEDING METHODS
• AerialSeeding– Aerialapplicationneededforimprovedtimingofseeding– Crucialforcovercropslikeradishorturnipswhereconventionalseedingmaynotbeallowedduetodelayedharvestoffieldcrop
– Moistureisimperativetomakeupforlackofadequateseedtosoilcontact
– Allowsforseedingintostandingfieldcrops
• Corn(> 50%lightpenetrationtogroundneeded)• Soybeans(after10%ofleaveshavedropped)
2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com
Aligning the stars…
Corn Maturity
Days Until First Frost
2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com
Aligning the stars…
Corn Maturity
Days Until First Frost
Ideal Planting Window
2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com
SEEDING METHODS
• DryApplicatorintostandingrowcrop– Gainingtractionasitallowsforearlierapplications
– Seedisforcedorblowndownin‐betweentherowtothesoilsurfaceusingairpressure
– Advantageoveraerialseedingsisthattheseedispusheddowntosurface,versus%oftheseedbeingheldupinthecropcanopy.
– Sometimesnotconsideredduetoconcernsofdrivingoverthestandingrowcrop
2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com
2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com
SEEDING METHODS
• SeedingwithManureSpreader– Combinefunctionstoreducetrips– Startabsorbingnutrientsquickly
– Feweropportunitiesforsoilcompaction
– Ideallyusedwhenseedingcovercropsthatworkwithnutrientsequester
2014 La Crosse Seed – Soil First™ Premium Cover Crop Seedwww.laxseed.com
SEEDING METHODS
• CombineHead‐MountedSeeder– Becomingmorepopularasiteliminatesanextrapassthroughthefield,savinglaborandwheeltraffic
– Usesairpressuretopushtheseeddownthroughtubesandspreadsthecovercropseedoutunderthecombineheadusingadiffuser
– Challengewiththismethodisthattheseedisleftonthesoilsurfaceandwilleitherneedmoistureoralighttillagepasstoensureseed‐to‐soilcontact.
ImageRadish(horizontalrooting)ImageRadish(horizontalrooting)
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