Description
Grassland species are normally seeded in mixtures rather than monocultures. In theory, seeding rates for mixtures are simply a sum of the amount of pure live seed (PLS) of each seed lot in the mix, an amount sufficient to ensure establishment and survival of each species. Mixtures can be complex because of the number of species used (especially in conservation and reclamation programs) and variations in seed purity and seed size. Soil limitations and seeding equipment settings need to be considered and in Canada, a metric conversion may be required. All these conditions make by-hand calculations of mixtures containing more than 3 species tedious and complicated. Thus, in practice, agronomists and growers use simple rules to set rates. The easiest rule is to estimate the mixture’s components as a percentage by weight of a standardized total weight of the seed required (e.g. 10% of 10 kg/ha). The resulting errors can be observed in the predominance of thin stands, the unexpected dominance of small seeded species and the added costs of interseeding to compete with weeds and fertilizer to increase yield. The objective of this project was to develop a decision support tool, a seed mixture calculator to simplify conversion and improve the estimates of seed required for individual seeding projects.
Citation
Berg, B. P. and Hutton, G., "A Decision Support Tool for Seed Mixture Calculations" (2023). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 58.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/20/satellitesymposium4/58
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
A Decision Support Tool for Seed Mixture Calculations
Grassland species are normally seeded in mixtures rather than monocultures. In theory, seeding rates for mixtures are simply a sum of the amount of pure live seed (PLS) of each seed lot in the mix, an amount sufficient to ensure establishment and survival of each species. Mixtures can be complex because of the number of species used (especially in conservation and reclamation programs) and variations in seed purity and seed size. Soil limitations and seeding equipment settings need to be considered and in Canada, a metric conversion may be required. All these conditions make by-hand calculations of mixtures containing more than 3 species tedious and complicated. Thus, in practice, agronomists and growers use simple rules to set rates. The easiest rule is to estimate the mixture’s components as a percentage by weight of a standardized total weight of the seed required (e.g. 10% of 10 kg/ha). The resulting errors can be observed in the predominance of thin stands, the unexpected dominance of small seeded species and the added costs of interseeding to compete with weeds and fertilizer to increase yield. The objective of this project was to develop a decision support tool, a seed mixture calculator to simplify conversion and improve the estimates of seed required for individual seeding projects.
