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Seedbed Preparation and Planting Depth Affect Switchgrass Establishment and Yield

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a native, long-lived, warm-season perennial grass that is well adapted, has potential for biofuel production, and can improve soil chemical and physical properties. It can be difficult to establish, but it can be productive in marginally productive or difficult to cultivate lands, and its root system can aid in soil conservation. The objectives of this 2-year field experiment were to determine the effects of seedbed preparation (burning, mowing, or tilling) and planting depth (0.25, 0.5, or 1.0 inches) on the establishment and yield of ‘EG 1101’ switchgrass. Planting between 0.25 and 0.5 inch generally resulted in more seedlings and greater stand percent and yield than 1.0-inch depth. Tilling generally resulted in more initial seedlings at 30 days after planting (DAP) than no-till with burning or mowing, but stand percent (150 DAP) and yield (postfrost) were not affected by seedbed preparation later in the growing season. However, all seedbed preparations and planting depths produced successful switchgrass stands of >1 seedling/ft2 and 350% stands. Producers planting on land susceptible to erosion could consider no-till planting after burning or mowing in order to reduce soil erosion and promote better soil structure and fertility without any loss in switchgrass productivity. A a long-lived warm-season perennial grass that is native to the United States east of the Rocky Mountains and south of 55°N latitude, switchgrass is well suited for renewable biofuel production due to its high biomass production under nutrientor water-limited environments (Mitchell and Schmer, 2014). Conversion of conventional annual cropping systems to biofuel production with a perennial grass such as switchgrass can also improve soil chemical and physical properties. However, it is a small-seeded grass with seed dormancy issues (Sanderson et al., 1996; Eckberg et al., 2015) and can be difficult to establish, especially if seedbed preparation, planting depth, and weed control are not optimal. As a perennial bioenergy crop, switchgrass, unlike corn (Zea mays L.), can be planted and be productive in marginally productive or difficult to cultivate lands that are susceptible to erosion (Vogel, 1996; Varvel et al., 2008), which necessitate no-till vs. conventional tillage. The benefits of no-till seeding compared with conventional tillage in conserving soil are well documented. Conventional tillage results in a loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) and subsequent release of C into the Published in Crop Forage Turfgrass Manage. Volume 2. doi:10.2134/cftm2016.0012 © 2016 American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science Society of America 5585 Guilford Rd., Madison, WI 53711 This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Published online September 15, 2016