NO-TILL
PASTURE RENOVATION
Mark Goodson
Extension Agent
Agronomy, Soils
York County
While researching the topic of
pasture renovation for the section.
Foraging Around, / came across
the following article by Lynn D.
Hoffman, Penn State research as
sociate, Department of Agronomy
and manager of the agronomy re
search farm at Rockspring (re
tired). This classic article still
stands as a valuable instruction on
the topic, so I submit it again for
us to leant from Lynn’s experience
and wisdom.
Pasture renovation in Pennsylva
nia has taken many turns at aca
demic interest over the past three or
four decades. Unfortunately, when
we look at the pasture acreage on
most farms, the interest at the farm
level has been casual to say the least.
If we adopted 1950 s pasture renova
tion technology on the farm today,
we could nearly double the produc
tivity of easily half the pasture acre
age throughout the Northeast.
With the above admission behind
us, we will attempt to develop reno
vation plans using current technolo
gy-
Early success with no-till com has
led us to believe we should carry this
practice into forage and small grain
production. The major emphasis of
this paper will be on no-till forage
production. Many guidelines offered
below for successful establishment of
forage crops are obviously applicable
for no-till production of most agron
omic crops.
Successful No-Till
Seeding of Forage Crops
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One’s first thoughts of no-till es
tablishment often are based on the
term “sod seeding.” This concept is
of establishing or reestablishing a
forage species, or combination of
species, into an already existing
grass or grass-legume sward. Many,
many hours of research and exten
sion effort was spent in the first few
years of the ’7os toward developing
this concept. While success in this
area is possible in Pennsylvania,
farmers are practicing no-till forage
establishment following crops such
as corn, soybeans, small grains, and
others. This approach offers the
most logical and consistent establish
ment of no-till forage crops. Crop ro
tation has been recognized as an im
portant agronomic tool. It becomes
no less important in no-till. In fact, it
becomes an effective method to alter
the environment to the best advan
tage of the forage seeding, while re
ducing, somewhat, the dependence
on the system for certain pesticides.
Sod Seeding
Successful forage establishment
will depend on how well one plans
and how well that plan is imple
mented. A sound decision must be
made concerning why the legumes
were lost in the present sward. If
winter kill and/or overgrazing are
the reason, then you may consider
replanting the same species. If dis
ease was the problem and there will
always be some plant disease pres
ent, then you should seriously con
sider planting a different species in
that particular field.
Following are some guidelines to
use when planning a no-till sod seed
ing.
Field Evaluation
1. What weeds are present? If
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perennial weeds are obviously a
problem, there will be a necessity for
two or more applications of 2,4-D
and/or Clarity to control tern weeds.
Clarity will also go a long way to
ward controlling brushy species in
an old pasture. However, Clarity
should not be used within one month
of seeding and should be applied the
fall before. A quart of 2,4-D low vol
atile ester plus one half pint of Clar
ity applied in September or October
will rid the field of many broadleafed
species of weeds. By repeating the
2,4-D spray in the spring before
seeding, most of the weeds germina
ting since the fall spraying will be
eliminated. If the field has quack
grass, two well-timed applications of
Gramoxone Extra may be necessary.
One, either the fall before or in early
spring and, after allowing the grass
to recover, apply the second spray
and seed immediately.
2. Is the area stony or wet? If the
area is extremely wet, perhaps cor
rective measures to improve drain
age are possible. Otherwise, it would
be best to wait until midsummer to
make the seeding. Excessive stoni
ness may mean poor placement with
some planters or extreme machinery
wear on others.
3. Is the field fenced well? Man
agement of grazing both before and
after seeding is an important step in
a successful seeding. Good fences
make the job easier. If fences need
repairs, this should be done well
ahead of time.
Most failures in sod seeding
have been the result of inadequate
preparation and lack of under
standing of the field situation.
Soil Test
A soil test taken up to a year
ahead of time will give plenty of time
to apply limestone, if needed. If the
field is wet or difficult to get on with
equipment, it may be necessary to
wait until an opportune time for lim
ing. A soil test is the only reliable
way to know whether there are
major plant food deficiencies. Again,
lead-time is important.
Lime And Fertilizer
Limestone applied six or more
months in advance of seeding will
give the necessary time for pH
change to occur. Since limestone will
not be mixed into the plow layer, a
longer period is needed to produce a
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pH change in the rooting zone.
Though phosphorus can and should
be added at the time of seeding,
there is also a good reason to add
some ahead of time if the soil test
shows a major deficiency. Potassium
should be added ahead of seeding
where any definite deficiency is
noted.
Nitrogen should not be added
ahead of seeding for sod-seeding leg
umes.
Soil test reports will differentiate
between no-till and conventional
seedings. For no-till seedings, no ni
trogen recommended. Nitrogen ap
plied just prior to or at the time of
seeding will stimulate existing grass,
thus promoting excessive competi
tion for the new seeding. Nitrogen
may be added after establishment for
promoting growth of rye or Sudan x
sorghum hybrid.
Graze Or Clip
If the area to be sod-seeded is suit
able for grazing, the best method of
reducing the competition of the
existing sod is to heavily graze the
field several times prior to seeding.
Though grazing is normally consid
ered a poor management technique,
this is one time when it is beneficial.
Not only does overgrazing rid the
area of excess top growth, but it im
proves the effectiveness of Gramox
one Extra applications.
Removing excess top growth is
particularly important when the
Midland ZIP-seeder is used because
this piece of equipment depends on a
shoe-type opener closely following a
straight disk sod cutter. Excessive
top growth can inhibit the effective
ness of this and other equipment
used for sod-seeding. When ade
quate numbers of grazing animals
are not available for removal of the
top growth, the next best procedure
is to mow or clip the area with all
clippings removed for hay or silage.
When grazing or close clipping are
not feasible, an application of Gra
moxone Extra two to three weeks be
fore seeding is recommended. A sec
ond application will be required at
time of planting. See the current
Agronomy Guide for specific recom
mendations.
Much of this topic was discussed
under field evaluation, but it is im
portant enough to repeat some
phases.
Herbicides
replace land
preparation
in sod-seed
ing. These
chemicals are
far less ex
pensive and
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Apply Herbicides
lower in ener
gy consump
tion than the
numerous op
erations nec
essary to pre
pare and seed
a field con
ventionally.
When peren
nial weeds
are a prob
lem, it may be
possible to get
by with one
quart per acre
of 2,4-D low
volatile ester
applied three
to four weeks
before seed
ing.
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Contact Herbicides
At Seeding
Regardless of what spray applica
tions went on prior to seeding, the
most important application is a con
tact herbicide as close to time of
seeding as possible. Spray prior to
planting, not after. One pint of Gra
moxone Extra plus surfactant just
prior to seeding has worked well for
us in Pennsylvania, if the field has
been grazed closely, this application
has been extremely effective in re
ducing crop top growth and early
competition for new seeding. Round
up Ultra can be used in place of Gra
moxone Extra. More detailed in
structions are available in the
Agronomy Guide.
Seed At Best Time
The conditions of the field, seed
being sown, and the existing species
determine the best time of seeding. If
the field tends to be wet, then the
seeding should probably be sched
uled for midsummer. The flush of
spring growth can be pastured sever
al times before seeding or one or
more cuttings of the hay crop may be
taken off. Regardless of the condi
tion of the field, this is often a good
time for seeding because the existing
sod will be at its lowest vigor.
Throughout most of Pennsylvania,
there will be time for the new seed
ings to gain sufficient growth to be
winter hardy, if the seeding is made
prior to Aug. IS. Use the seeding
time that has worked best for your
particular geographic area.
All species of grasses and legumes
have individual characteristics that
need to be understood if these spe
cies are to be used effectively. Alfal
fa, red clover, and ladino clover can
all be seeded early because thc>
sprout quickly and can grow in cool
er weather. Birdsfoot trefoil and
crownvetch should not be seeded in
early spring because they are slow in
germinating and cannot withstand
the competition of recovering sod.
Timothy should go through a cold
period to germinate well. This means
that little timothy will be evident in a
seeding made midsummer until the
following year. Tall fescue and rye
grass will stool out and develop a
good root system during the fall and
winter whereas orchardgrass and
reed canarygrass are probably better
seeded in the late spring.
One should recognize that the
probability of pressures to the new
seeding from disease, insects, and
weeds are much greater in sod-seed
ing than when establishing forages
following other crops in a rotation.
For this reason, I urge consideration
of a short rotation to enable utiliza
tion of a wider choice of herbicides,
break the disease and insect cycles,
and set the stage for more successful
no-till forage crop establishment.
No-Till Forage
In Crop Rotation
Sound crop rotations make agron
omic sense in any farming program.
They are invaluable tools in no-till
forage crop management. There are
crops that no-till perennial forages
can successfully follow in a pasture
program.
With good herbicide programs
aided by creative crop manipulation
and other sound management prac
tices, we could easily triple or quad
ruple the yields of most Northeast
pastures. The technology is here.
Only the genuine desire of the farm
ing public needs to be cultivated.