Use of Minimum Tillage and Herbicide for Establishing Legumes in Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) Swards1

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Abstract
Factorial experiments were conducted for three successive years with plantings of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) made in spring, mid‐and late summer of each year. White clover (Trifolium repens L.) was sown only in spring. Tillage levels were none and strips tilled to a depth of 1.9 cm with widths of 0.6, 1.9 and 5.7 cm. Herbicide levels were none and paraquat, l:l‐dimethyl‐4, 4'dipyridylium dichloride, applied at 1.11 kg a.i./ha in bands of 5.1 and 10.2 cm over the seeded rows. Seeds were placed either on or below the soil surface. Spring plantings were most successful, late summer ones were intermediate, and those made in mid‐summer were poorest. Placing the seed 1.2 (alfalfa) or 0.6 cm (clover) below the soil surface was found to be the most consistent controllable factor contributing to successful establishment. Stands were equal or superior on the minimumtilled plots i.e., strips 0.6 cm wide and 1.9 cm deep, to those of other treatments. Paraquat banded over the seeded row enhanced legume stands only when grass stands were dense and growth was rapid. Based on success with minimum tillage, a prototype field machine was designed and constructed to till, seed, cultipack, and apply herbicide in one pass over the land.

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