Seed of Dixie shattered in harvesting operations has successfully produced
good volunteer stands in fall. When used in rotations with cultivated
crops, the seed must be matured before the seedbed is prepared for the
following crop. When Dixie is used in pasture, care should be taken to
prevent close grazing at the time of blooming, since it may limit the
quantity of seed produced and cause thin fall stands. Summer-growing
grasses must be either closely grazed or clipped in fall to give the
clover seedlings a chance to become established.
The seed and plants of Dixie cannot be distinguished from common
crimson clover, and the variety may be readily contaminated by either
cross-pollination or mechanical mixtures. For these reasons the farmer
buying Dixie should buy only certified seed.
=Rate and Time of Seeding=
Under ordinary conditions 12 to 15 pounds of hulled seed to the acre will
give good stands unless there is lack of soil moisture. Depending upon the
quantity of chaff and pieces of stems, 45 to 60 pounds of unhulled seed
is comparable with 15 pounds of hulled seed. Crimson clover may be sown
from the middle of July until November, depending upon the location, with
the expectation of obtaining a good stand. The later it is seeded the less
growth can be expected and the more readily winterkilling occurs. Early
establishment becomes more important as plantings are extended northward.
Seeding crimson clover either immediately before or following heavy rains,
if possible, increases its chances of making a stand. Spring planting
in or south of the Corn Belt usually results in a short, stunted growth
followed by little blossoming and low yield.
=Inoculation=
In many areas where crimson clover has been grown successfully for several
years it is not necessary to inoculate the seed with bacterial cultures
for the production of nodules. But either the seed or the soil must be
inoculated if crimson clover has not been grown. If the plants are not
inoculated they will develop slowly, become yellow, and die. Inoculated
plants are able to obtain about two-thirds of then nitrogen from the air
through then root nodules. The plants may be artificially inoculated by
applying cultures of the bacteria to the seed or by scattering soil from a
field where inoculated crimson clover has been grown. Two hundred to three
hundred pounds per acre of such soil evenly distributed at seeding time is
usually sufficient.
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