Seeding Rangeland
- Pastures should be reseeded if desirable plants make up less than 10 percent of the total vegetation available.
- For best results using native species, use seed grown within 200 miles north or south and 100 miles east or west of the area to be seeded.
- As a rule, plant seed at a depth four to seven times the diameter of the seed. When using a mixture of small and large seed, determine the planting depth by the diameter of the smallest seed. In most rangeland seedings, plant the seed about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep but not deeper than 3/4 inch.
Timing:
- Warm season plants may be seeded successfully during late winter to early spring across most of Texas. The Trans-Pecos region is best suited to mid-summer seeding dates for warm season species. In the more southern areas of the state where rainfall peak occurs in the fall, seeding in late summer or early fall may be more desirable.
- Cool season plants may be seeded either in the spring or early fall, though late summer or fall normally is best.
Weed Control:
- Do not spray herbicide on areas recently seeded until grass has developed four to five true leaves.
| General Seeding Rates for Grasses Commonly Used in Range Seedings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Species | Seeding rate (lbs. of PLS/acre)* | |||
| 40-in. rows | Drill/broadcast | |||
| Alkali Sacaton | 0.4 | 1.0 | ||
| Angleton bluestem | 0.4 | 1.0 | ||
| Big bluestem | 2.0 | 6.0 | ||
| Black grama | 0.5 | 1.5 | ||
| Blue panicgrass | 0.8 | 2.0 | ||
| Boer lovegrass | 0.8 | 1.5 | ||
| Buffelgrass (burs/grain) | 1.0 / 0.5 | 2.0 / 1.5 | ||
| Buffalograss (burs/grain) | 5.0 / - | 16.0 / 3.0 | ||
| California cottontop | 0.4 | 1.2 | ||
| Caucasian bluestem | 0.5 | 1.2 | ||
| Eastern gamagrass - Pete and Luka varieties | 10.0 8.0 | 20.0 15.0 | ||
| Gordo bluestem | 0.5 | 1.2 | ||
| Green spangletop | 0.7 | 1.7 | ||
| Indiangrass | 1.5 | 4.5 | ||
| King Ranch bluestem | 0.5 | 1.2 | ||
| Kleberg bluestem | 0.5 | 1.2 | ||
| Kleingrass | 0.5 | 1.5 | ||
| Lehmann lovegrass | 0.5 | 1.5 | ||
| Little bluestem | 1.2 | 3.4 | ||
| Medio bluestem | 0.4 | 1.0 | ||
| Old World bluestem | 0.5 | 1.2 | ||
| Plains bristlegrass | 1.0 | 3.0 | ||
| Rhodesgrass | 0.4 | 1.0 | ||
| Sand bluestem | 2.0 | 6.0 | ||
| Sand dropseed | 0.4 | 1.0 | ||
| Sand lovegrass | 0.5 | 1.5 | ||
| Sideoats grama | 1.5 | 4.5 | ||
| Switchgrass (Alamo) - All other varieties | 0.8 1.2 | 2.0 3.5 | ||
| Weeping lovegrass | 0.5 | 1.5 | ||
| Western wheatgrass | 2.4 | 7.0 | ||
| Wilman lovegrass | 0.5 | 1.5 | ||
| Yellow bluestem | 0.6 | 1.8 | ||
| * PLS (pure live seed) = (% germination + % hard seed) x % purity | ||||
Comments: Dr. Allan McGinty