Progress Report Series* No..28
September 1946
AG R.iLTURA 
EXPERIMENT STATI0N
of The Ala-bama.P'olytecknic 
,Institute, Auburn, 
*Ala.
* M J. Funchess, Director
GROWING LESPEDEZA SERICEA 
ON SAND AOUNTA I N
Lespedeza sericea. is a perennial legume
that has shown a great deal of promise as a
hay and grazing crop on Sand Mountain. It
has proved to be a very satisfactorybay
for mules and ilk cows. At thount-
ain Substation, an average yield of approx-
imately 3 tons of hay per acre has been
obtairteO. irmprifents inwhich tje sen-
cea has been cut twice each year.
Soil. Sericea is adapted to most soils
on Sand Mountain, except badly eroded areas.
Like -other crops, it will make larger yields
on fertile soils, but it will probably make
higher yields on soils of low fertility
than other forage crops grown in this sec-
tion.
FrI]1ztion and repa rt 1o" Sritc~a
responds. to. both phosphate 
and potash. B&-
fore seeding 1 ton of basic slag or600
pounds per acr of superphosphate plus 200
pounds of muriate in either case areb road-
cast-on broken land..' After the minerals are
applied they are disked into the soil. Fol-
l owing this preparation, the land, 
is har
rowed As. frequently as is necessary''to
destroy weeds and crab-grass;*
Annual fertilizer t reatmnt. is 300 pound s
of superphosphate and 200 poundA per acre
of muriate of potash.
Seed ing. Sc ari fied seric-ea seed 
are'
planted between May 1 and May,15 on a loose
seedhed,. and.,before.,rain, pac k s -t he..la s t
harrowing. The. seed are planted At. the 
-rate
of.35 to 40 p ounds per,-acre. Use only
dodder-free, scarified 
seed..
To insure uniform. distribution, the Seed
are divided into two equal parts. One half
is broadcast. 
in one direction. 
The other
half is broadcast crosswise of the first
s sowing.
Do not cover the seed but allow..the .next.
rain to do 'the covering.. Every possible
care should be taken to secure a stand -from
the first seeding, as it is very difficult
to thicken stands in future seasons.
Management the first year. 
Sericea does
not make much growth during 
the first year.
Theref ore, i~t is lik~ely, that the 
area will
e fu o. e ngrswhich are al
lowed to grow during tie sumimer., In Novem-~
ber or December, the dead weeds and grass
are mowed, raled. and removed 
from the area.
.Cutting 
andcuring. 
In the 
spring 
ofthe
second year sprouts will 
come from the old
crowns and very few weeds will 
appear.
Sericea should be cut for hay whenit
3 to mosw en it reach-d
es a-height of 12 to 14 inches. 
It should
ot be allowed 
to reach- 
the large, 
Woody
stage; :such h a y is patclyworthless.
The first cutting i s 
usually ready in late
May or early June, and the 
second.cutting
in late July or early August. 
It- is not ad
visable to cut sericea later 
than August
10, since late cutting may seri'ously damage
the stand.
Serice.a cures rapidly and must be handlY
ed. carefully to prevent excessive loss' of
l'eaves. In good hay-curing weather, it
should be cut about 9 o'clock in the morn-
ing, raked into windrows about an hour lat-
er, and hauled to the barn the following
morning. at .about- 10 o'clock.. If it 
is to-.be
bale, itshoud beleft in*the field anoth-~
er dy. I s very .,important, 
not Itoalo
serlcea. to remain in the- swath .more than
one, hour.
These in4structios are not iron-clad'
because they are based on conditions favor-
ae for cutting and curing hay., Under 
less
*Fornerly Mieograph 
Serie$.
.'The following rec6mrnevtat.16ns 
apply'to the
WanMountain area only and, sho Uld Anot be
a4ppl ied 
on other 
areas inthe 
State.rig-
s t , Sand Mountai Su aio
1 1 I I~ ;L~ 1 ' I~ 1 1
I
& 0 0L
favorable conditions, careful judgment must
be used in deciding when hay may be hauled
to the barn or baled.
Feeding. It has been found that mules
eat sericea equally as well as any good hay.
Cows, however, do not eat it quite as read
-
ily. It usually takes about 10 days tc get
them on full feed of sericea.
Grazing. Cattle seem 
to relish tender
sericea. Grazing should start when the
plants are 6 to 8 inches high. If the seri-
cca is under-grazed, it will become coarse
and stemmy. In suc a case it may become
necessary to mrrow the crop.
Sericea may Le grazed from the time it
reaches 6 to 8 inches until frost.