Abstract
1) Experiments were carried out to compare the combined effects of coating methods of pasture seeds with tall fescue (var. Ky 31) and covering of seeds after sowing on the seedling growth and the herbage production. When the seeds were covered with soil after seeding, the number of seedling emergence was two to three times higher compared with surface sowing. Coating treatments were effective under surface sowing and wet coating plot was srperior if the seed was covered with soil after seeding. If the density of the emerged seedlings exceeded 400/m^2, it decreased rapidly by three months. The density seemed to astringe to about 200/m^2 in the summer of the 1st year in case of tall fescue stand. Stubble formation began to appear at the expense of the smaller seedlings. The yields of the control plot and wet coating plot under covered conditions were higher than the other plots in the seeding year but the difference disappeared in the 1st cut of the next year. Swards of the comparatively uniform tiller number of the seedlings and higher production can be expected if the seeds were coated or tabletted before surface sowing. Tabletting seeds is promising if the lowered germination were improved by modifying the direct compression method. 2) The applicability of the coated seeds were investigated on the paddy field soil with Italian ryegrass (var. Mammoth) seeds for spring- and autumn sowing. Germination of coated seeds were lower than that of the control but both yields were high. There was the same tendency for autumn sowing trial. A higher yield was harvested in shallow-tilled plots for uncoated seeds while uncultivated plots gave better results for coated seeds plots in the next spring. The yields of the dry coating plots were high in spite of lower seeding emergence and lager densities.
