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.
When crimson clover is grown for the first time an additional inoculation treatment is recommended if weather conditions are dry and hot after seeding. This supplemental inoculation consists in mixing commercial cultures with sand, soil, or cottonseed meal and broadcasting the mixture over the soil surface during cloudy, rainy weather as the young seedlings are emerging. A bushel-size culture mixed with 60 pounds of the above-mentioned material is sufficient for an acre if distributed evenly. Soil from a field where inoculated crimson clover has been grown may also be used for the supplemental treatment.