Historic, archived document Do not. assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices. Se Bia Ty vy, - Pa .— ia a) 0 - bo. a a La - _ iy ban ae a i & Aba: ; we Pee ee ~ sts > ~ Circular No. 863 -Sericea and Other Perennial Lespedezas for Forage and Soil Conservation. By BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY, SOILS, AND AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING and SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON, D. C., ISSUED NOVEMBER 1950 JAN3 1951 | U:S. DEPARTMENT OF ASRICULT rE | fr eae ee tT AAS te f op Ke: : . \Oeres ct 5 : : z ; ae: - ee i z Las Sater o aa — is : = Circular no. 363 ¢. Washington, D. C. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE November 1950 Sericea and Other Perennial Lespedezas for Forage and Soil Conservation’ By A. J. PIETERS,’ formerly principal agronomist, Division of Forage Crops and Diseases, Bureau of Plant Industry, and Section of Agronomy and Range Management, Division of Conservation Operations, Soil Conservation Service; PAUL R. HENSON, senior agronomist, Division of Forage Crops and Diseases, Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Research Administration; and WILLIAM E. ADAMS, station agronomist, and A. P. BARNETT, assistant agricultural engineer, Soil Con- servation Service CONTENTS Page Introduction ms pete Ey eel Yauelds-and leafiness 22285) Meta bite = 2 3 Feeding trials 2 | Flower and seed development _ ie) Fanninin sericea-hay 22 "= == Climatic and soil adaptation __-___ _ 6 | Sericea meal _ CuilGaie hte eee EY need ee 8 | Silage = Germination of hard seed _____ 8| Sericea for grazing Treatment of hard seed ______ 9} Seed production S. Method of seeding _ PSE EIS 10) Harvesting IVate Om SCCOIMS = = eee Ol Appearance, weight and num- PiIMmMentO~e Seeds = fel. ber of seeds Bg Care during first and second _ Wildlife uses eae USES oo egies Bae i Sericea, a self-mulching crop —__—— mee enn es - Beet T5 Soil improvement with sericea ___ Diseases _ _____.____ 1g] Sericea for erosion control ______ Weed competition __ 13| Sericea in the soil conservation Sericea stands _______ 14 program Volunteer stands _ 14| Species and varieties of per -ennial Number of plants to a stand 14 lespedezas Hay from sericea ____ 15 Varieties of Lespedeza cuneata_ Number of cuttings lye Native American species ___-- Chemical analysis 19 Other perennial species _~—___ Vitamin content _ 21 Chromosome numbers in sericea Minerals in sericea hay ______ 221 Literature cited ne ASAI 1 Contribution from Soil Conservation Service and Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering. The latter bureau was known as the Bureau of Plant Industry, at the time Circular 534 was issued. *This Circular is a revision of and supersedes Circular 534, Lespedeza Sericea and Other Perennial Lespedezas for Forage and Soil Conservation, by A. J. Pieters. Dr. Pieters died in 1940. 2) CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE INTRODUCTION The farmers of the South first became acquainted with lespe- deza*.through the important service rendered by the two annual species, common and Korean. These two are the only annual forms among the 125 known species of the genus; the others are perennials. The lespedezas are found only in eastern North America and in eastern Asia. About 20 perennial species are native to North America. None of the oriental species is indige- nous to America and the American species are not found in the Orient. Of the perennials, some 25 species and varieties have been grown in the nurseries of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering. The perennial lespedezas may be considered in two groups— shrubby species and herbaceous perennials. To the former group belong such species as Lespedeza bicolor, L. cyrtobotrya, and L. thunbergu. These species make a growth of 6 to 10 feet in height. Where the annual growth is not killed by frost, woody stems that may become 1 to 2 inches in diameter develop. New growth comes from the woody stems each spring. Where winters are severe enough to kill the current growth, new growth comes from the crown buds. All the native American species and L cuneata’, L. hedysaroides, L. latissima, and others, are herba- ceous perennials, the annual growth of which dies down to the ground every year. Of the oriental species, a few shrubby species as L. bicolor, L. japonica, and L. thunbergu, have long been sparingly used as ornamentals, but not until 1924 when the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture introduced L. cuneata were any perennials used in agriculture in the United States. Lespedeza cuneata was first tried in 1896 by McCarthy (19) of the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. There is no evidence that he made observations on any but the first year’s growth, and on this basis he condemned the plant as being without value. In 1899 Seaman A. Knapp, then in Japan, sent seed of this species to the Office of Foreign Plant Introduction of the United States Department of Agriculture, and some of this seed was planted at Arlington Experiment Farm, Va., in 1900. Here it grew for several years, but little attention was paid to it and the plot was later destroyed. Some plants escaped to a remote part of the Arlington farm, where they were found in 1925. The Office of Foreign Plant Introduction also sent seed to a farmer in Tennessee and from this planting the species apparently escaped and became established over a considerable area in Over- ton County, Tenn. (21, 27). In 1924 the Bureau of Plant Industry obtained seed of a number of legumes from Japan, among them seed of Lespedeza cuneata. 3 For discussion of the annual lespedezas see Pieters (30) .* * Italic numbers refer to Literature Cited, p. — °In accordance with the international rules of botanical nomenclature, the name Lespedeza cuneata has superseded L. sericea. SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS 3) These lots were planted in the legume nursery at Arlington Ex- periment Farm, and L. cuneata No. 12087 appeared to be of most promise. Seed of 12087 was distributed for trial in suc- ceeding years as was that descended from the original Knapp introduction which was given No. 04730. Later a limited amount of seed of L. hedysaroides and L. latissima was distributed, but up to the present time only L. cuneata has made any material advance. The discussion in this circular will, therefore, relate to L. cuneata unless some other species is named. During recent years L. cuneata has proved of value in erosion control, and many plantings have been made for this purpose. Its value for erosion control, hay, wildlife, and seed production has been demonstrated. Some have called L. cuneata, Chinese les- pedeza, but there is no good reason for this. The seed, as it came to the United States Department of Agriculture from Japan, was distributed as L. sericea, a synonym of L. cuneata. The name “sericea” 1s widely used as a common name and, in this circular L. cuneata will be referred to as sericea. HABIT Sericea has a habit of growth like that of alfalfa. The current growth matures seed and dies in late fall, and the new growth comes from the crowns the following spring. During the first season, one erect stem is produced. Additional stems come from crown buds the following years so that in the third or fourth year there may be 20 to 30 stems per plant. An isolated plant has been known to produce 100 stems. The height of the first year’s growth depends largely on the methods of seeding. In cultivated rows the plants may attain a height of 3 to 4 feet the first season and be well branched. If the seed is broadcast, the first year’s growth may be some 12 to 18 inches in a good season. Plants from a seeding in grain or on weedy land or in a dry season may make only a few inches of growth. In all cases the second year’s growth will attain a height of 2 to 5 feet, depending on moisture and soil conditions, will be dense, and will be well branched unless the stand is very thick. Full growth is usually attained the second season, but if the first season’s growth is very short by reason of severe conditions full growth may not be attained until the third season (fig. 1). The roots are woody and widely branched and penetrate the soil to a depth of more than 3 feet (fig. 2). They have been known to penetrate tight clay soils (11). The size of the roots in a mature stand will depend on the thickness of the stand. Isolated plants have larger roots than those that are crowded. This abundant and vigorous root system enables it to hold eroding soils and to resist prolonged dry weather. Sericea has been reported to have survived a 5-day overflow in Arkansas that killed alfalfa, and in Alabama it has survived annual overflows that damaged Johrison grass. 4. CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FIGURE 1.—A 6-year-old broadcast stand of sericea at the Arlington Experi- ment Farm, Va. C No. |2087 No.04730 yee IG Ae FIGURE 2.—Root systems of sericea at Columbia, Mo. The roots are 2 years old. SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS 5) As far as studies have been made, sericea appears to be immune to the root knot nematode, and this fact adds to its value as a soil-improving crop on lands that are later to be planted to crops susceptible to root knot. FLOWER AND SEED DEVELOPMENT Two kinds of flowers, designated as “petaliferous” and “apet- alous’”’, have been noted by McKee and Hyland (20). The petalif- erous flower has a fully developed corolla and is conspicuous. In the apetalous type, the corolla is rudimentary and the flower does not open until the developing pod forces the calyx apart. Hanson (10), working with Korean lespedeza, L. stipulacea, found that in apetalous flowers, the pollen germinates within the anther sacs and the pollen tubes enter the stigma after penetrating the anther wall. Stitt (32), in a study of natural crossing in sericea, concluded that the seed from apetalous flowers were all self-pollinated, but natural crossing occurred in petaliferous flowers varying from 61 to 81 percent in the plants tested. Seed pods from apetalous and petaliferous flowers can be readily identified on the basis of size and shape of pod and style (fig. 3). FIGURE 3.—Sericea lespedeza seed showing seed from apetalous flowers on the left and from petaliferous flowers on the right. Seed A from F.C. 19284 and B from 04730. 6 CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE H. L. Hyland and R. E. Stitt, in unpublished annual reports, have noted wide variation in the number of apetalous flowers produced on different plants. The percentage of apetalous flowers varied from 30 to 100 of the total number of flowers produced. While different inheritance patterns are evident in the plants studied, it was concluded that the environmental factors, temperature and light, largely govern the development of apetalous flowers. CEIMATIC AND SOIL ADAPTATION To delimit precisely the climatic and soil adaptation of this crop is not yet possible. It has survived several seasons in southern Vermont and southern Michigan and has been known to survive winter temperatures of —17° F. On the other hand, it has gone out or has been severely injured in sections with less severe winter conditions. The variation in results may be due to differences in heaving, or in ground cover, snow, or debris. It has been ob- served that plants in cultivated rows suffered more than those in broadcast stand. Buds that are stimulated by warm days in February may be killed by a subsequent drop in temperature. Sericea is as sensitive to cold while in a growing condition as any species of lespedeza. In the South a stand may start growth early and become several inches high only to be cut down by a late freeze. This does not kill the plants, however, but cuts down the new growth. Sericea is also affected by length of day. It does not seed where the days are too long, as in Oregon. In southern Michigan it has been known to seed sparingly. In an experiment by the Bureau of Plant Industry, begun March 4, 1936, at Washington, D. C., three plants, originally the same size, were grown under different lengths of day. One plant was grown under artificial light until 11 p. m.; a second under a normal day; and a third under a short or 8-hour day. In 1 month the first plant grew to 17 inches, the second to 9 inches, and the third to 6 inches. Figure 4 shows the results after 9 months. While sericea will endure extreme drought when well estab- lished, it is in no sense a dry-land plant. The fact that it makes little growth during the cool, moist spring subjects it to extreme hardships caused by droughts in summer. At Hays, Kans., it has lived for several years but has not made growth enough to compete with sweetclover and alfalfa, which can take full ad- vantage of the spring moisture. As far as present knowledge goes, therefore, sericea would appear to be a plant for the territory from perhaps a hundred miles north of the Ohio River to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Atlantic to central Kansas and Oklahoma. Sericea thrives best on clay and silt loams but has made good growth on sands and sandy loams and has done well on some acid muck soils. Its best growth is apparently made on soils on which it is most needed, namely the poor, eroded clays, clay loams, or silt loams of the Piedmont and on similar soils else- SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS ie FIGURE 4.—Effect at the end of 9 months of the length of growing day on three plants that were originally the same size: A, grown under a long day, was 92 inches high and had a few blooms; B, grown under normal day, was 40 inches high and had ripe seed; C, grown under a short day, had not grown more than 6 inches high. , 8 CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE where. In east-central Alabama it thrives on a stiff “brick clay” on which cultivated crops often fail. While, in general, sericea will thrive on poor, eroded soils, it . should be pointed out here that some soils in the Piedmont have been so badly eroded that not even sericea thrives. The result is doubtless related to the degree of erosion and the character of the subsoil in the exposed horizon. Sericea is a “poor-land crop” only in the sense that it can be established successfully on thin eroded and depleted croplands, provided that its seedbed prepara- tion, moderate fertilization and seeding requirements are met. It is entirely practical to establish good stands of sericea on land Where it would be inadvisable to plant “good land crops” like alfalfa, for example. Applications of phosphate and potash are necessary for sus- tained good production of sericea for hay, seed and/or pasturage.. If essential plant nutrient minerals are lacking, yields will be low and the forage unpalatable. Sericea will grow under irrigation in the West; however, it does not compete with alfalfa in quantity and quality of hay produced. It is not a competitor of alfalfa. Its place is on the sour, eroded soils of low fertility level throughout the southeastern quarter of the United States. CULTURE GERMINATION OF HARD SEED Sericea seed as harvested is in the hull. While the hull is but a delicate membrane that readily absorbs water, the seed coat is hard and in most of the seeds is impermeable to water. This results in a low percentage of germination. : Many germination tests have been made both in the seed labora- tory of the Department and in soil or sand in the greenhouse. The results have varied widely. In some cases the germination of the unhulled seed has been as low as 2.5 percent, with 88 to 91.5 percent remaining hard. In others up to 72 percent of the unhulled seed have germinated with 19.5 percent remaining hard. In most cases, the range of germination of unscarified seed has been between 10 and 20 percent. Selection work was carried out by the Bureau of Plant Industry over several years with the hope that the descendants of certain individual plants that in 1928 produced a high percentage of quickly germinable unhulled seed might inherit this quality. No progress was made, however, as descendants of plants producing in one year a high percentage of quickly germinable unhulled seed were, in later years, no better than the average. No explanation can be offered today for this variation in results. Possibly climatic conditions when the seed is ripening may have an influence, but no evidence has been found to sustain this supposition. The varia- tion in results from year to year is shown by the record of five individual plants (table 1). SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS Q Germination was high in 1930, very low in 1931, fairly high in 1932, and low in 1933. 53.8] 34.9434 2 4.898) 222647364 DAS S| P4258) — 1027 =| 2074) 52:6) e320 ee al sds eet OO ie oad 31__; 5.22 | 1.52; 3.10) 54.2]. 35.2] 43.3) 4.94 /| 2.53 | 3.56 | 1 Analyses by Division of Hay, Feed, and Seed, Bureau of Agricultural Eco- nomics. Separate analyses were made of leaves and stems. The figures for whole hay above were calculated from those analyses and the percentage of leaves and stems. Morrison (24) gives the average protein content of perennial lespedeza-as 14.9 percent and the average digestible protein as 10.7 percent. Unfortunately, feeding trials with sericea are so few that figures on the digestibility of the various constituents must be considered as tentative. It is probable that the digesti- bility of the protein in the more mature cuts is less than that in the younger, and this would tend to increase the spread in value between hay cut when the plants are in the first flush of growth and that cut at a later date. This will also be the case for the fiber. When cut at about a foot high, the hay of sericea contains little lignin; when cut later most of the cells in the stems are woody and this lowers the digestibility of the fiber. SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS Dh The leaves contain most of the protein. In the series of analy- ses trom which table 3 was calculated the protein in the leaves varied tor dierent cuttings from 20.5 on May 29 to 14.5 on July 31, with an average of 17.55 percent. The protein in stems varied from 15.4 on May 29 to 7.17 on July 31, with an average of 9.17 percent. The tact that the leaves even in the youngest material contain most ot the valuable nutrients makes it important to handle the hay so that the leaves will be saved. A comparison of the figures given by Morrison (24) for the percentage of digestible protein from al! analyses of various hays shows that hay from sericea ranks well. For comparison, the digestible protein and total digestible nutrients for certain hays as given by Morrison are shown in table 4. TABLE 4.—Content of digestible protein, total digestible nutrients, and minerals in certain common hays! Digest- Total di- Phos- Potas- Type of hay ible | gestible | Calcium ; protein | nutrients phorus sium Percent | Percent | Percent | Percent | Percent Lespedeza, annual, all analyses 9.2 52.2 | 0.99 0.19 0.84 Lespedeza, perennial | | [sericea ] Se ualan ss 1.0.7) 51:9 1.01 24 91 Alfalfa, all analyses _____ 10.64 50.3 1.43 A 2.02 Soybean, all analyses ____ alg eal 50.6 .96 .25 82 Red clover, all analyses __ C01 51.9 IE Al 18 1.58 Cowpea hay, all analyses 2.6 49.4 113 25 1.45 Bermuda grass Sal 43.0 48 20 1.42 Johnson erases, 2225528 2.9. 50.3 OT PAS 1.22 Orchard grass, early cut__ 4.6 A QAGs sss eo eae AT. 1.61 Timothy, all analyses____ 2.9 46.9 Dek 16 1336 1From Morrison (24). Such average analyses as given in table 4 have but a limited value since the figures include analyses of many lots of inferior hay. They do show, however, that sericea hay ranks well with the legume hays and is very much better than grass hay. When it is borne in mind that sericea will grow on land too poor and too badly eroded to produce any but inferior crops of poor grass hay, its value in the economy of southern agriculture may be appreciated. VITAMIN CONTENT Little is known of the vitamin content of sericea. The vita- min A content was determined in terms of carotene by J. S. Hughes, of Manhattan, Kans., on material submitted by the ee ee & Grain Co., Spartanburg, S. C. The data are given in table 5. ®° Permission to use these data was given by C. B. Fretwell, of the Spartan Mill & Grain Co. Le 29 CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Hughes adds: Since the weather has been very warm I imagine these samples have lost as much as 8 to 10 percent of the carotene present at the time you prepared them. It is rather interest.ng that your sun-cured samples run so high in carotene. Sun-cured alfalfa from Colorado and certain sections of California runs about th_s h gh 1n carotene, while the sun-cured alfalfa in this section of the country runs only about half.‘ The Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station (23) found that sericea leaves ranked high in vitamins A and G. TABLE 5.—Vitamin A in terms of carotene in three lots of Lespe- deza cuneata grown near Spartanburg, S.C. Amount of carotene in Cutting 100 gm. of — | Leaves Stems Milligrams | Milligrams Second, 10 inches high, sun cured ____ e 11.916 ell First, 18 inches high, sun cured ___ iN Ses] 99 L179 Second, 12 inches high, dehydrated ___ ae | 27.001 3.679 MINERALS IN SERICEA HAY From the limited number of analyses available (table 4), it would appear that sericea hay has about the same phosphorus content as other legume hays but that the calcium content is lower than that of alfalfa, clover, or cowpea hay. It is, however, considerably higher than in grass hay. Asa result of a fertilizer trial with sericea on sandy land at the Agricultural Research Center, the Bureau of Plant Industry found that the phosphorus content was increased by the application of phosphate fertilizer. Since sericea is grown mostly on soils low in calcium the small amount of this element in the hay is readily understood. YIELDS AND LEAFINESS Yield data have but limited value since the figures show only the results secured on a particular piece of land and with a certain stand cut at a definite time. Yields have been reported by the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station (26) where from 1 ton to more than 3.5 tons per acre were harvested. In Ten- nessee (21) the recorded yields at Knoxville averaged 3.56 tons per acre over a 3-year period. Unfortunately nothing is said in either the Illinois or the Tennessee record of the growth stage at which the hay was cut. That this can make a great difference is shown by data obtained at the Arlington Experiment Farm in 1929 on hay taken from a uniform stand. Each plot was cut only once. The plot cut June 4 yielded 3,200 pounds per acre; June 17, 3,647; July 1, 5,211; and July 15, 7,223 pounds per acre. 7 Quoted by C. B. Fretwell in letter to the author Nov. 9. 1936. SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS 23 In another trial on another field in 1932 the cutting of June 4 yielded 2,032 pounds per acre; June 11, 2,674; June 20, 2,993; and June 25, 4,103 pounds per acre. Naturally the early cutting produced the best hay but the lowest yielas. S.nce the second cutting from the area cut June 4 was much larger than from the other areas, the total yield from the area first cut June 4 was greater than trom that first cut June 11 and nearly as great as that from the area first cut June 20. The ear.iest cutt.ng also produced more protein per acre than either the June 11 or June 20 cuttings. A good stand on medium land may be expected to yield from 34, to 114 tons of good hay in each of two cuttings, or a erop of 114 tos tons of hay and a crop of seed. The leafiness of sericea may be gathered from table 3, where it is shown that in material cut at various dates the percentages of leaves varied from 43 to 66 percent, the earlier cut hay being the more leafy. S.nce only 45 percent leafiness is required for No. 1 alfalfa hay, it appears that a good grade of sericea hay should be more leafy than alfalfa (fig. 9). FiGcurE 9.—Alfalfa (A) is less leafy than sericea (B). FEEDING TRIALS Few feeding trials have been made, and some of these are un- satisfactory either because there is no information on the quality of the hay fed or because it is known that poor sericea hay was compared with good alfalfa hay. The results of such tria's as have been made show a trend and afford some guide to the prob- 24. CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE able feeding value of sericea rather than definitely indicate the value of good sericea hay. In Missouri it was found that rather poor sericea hay produced 43 pounds less milk per cow per day than the very best alfalfa.§ At the Tennessee station (21) Holstein cows produced about the same amount of milk on sericea as on alfalfa. The gain in weight of Jersey heifers was also the same on sericea as on alfalfa. Horses maintained their weight for several winter months on seri- cea alone, without grain. The Virg:nia station (14) compared Korean lespedeza and seri- cea hay with a'falfa. All hays were of good to medium quality. The digestibility of the good hay was higher than that of the medium hay and this difference was more pronounced in the les- pedezas than in alfalfa. For milk production both lespedezas were of about equal value and were 80 percent as efficient as alfalfa. In Georgia, Edwards (5) fed ground sericea and ground cowpea hay to lambs and found the sericea 81 percent as efficient as cowpea hay for making gains. No bad effects on health were observed. At Beltsville, Md., on the animal husbandry farm a feeding trial with beef steers was conducted in the winter of 1934~-35.° The trial lasted 84 days. A rather poor grade of sericea hay produced in 1933 at Arlington, Va., was available and was fed in comparison to good alfalfa hay. The difference in quality is revealed to some extent at least by the percentage of protein, which for the sericea was 10.24, 10.68, and 11.96 for the three feeding periods and for the alfalfa, 15.69, 16.46, and 13.77 for the corresponding periods. Since the sericea hay had been cut when too mature, it is probable that owing to the high percentage of crude fiber the digestibility of the protein in the sericea was also low. The plan was to feed merely a maintenance ration, but the amount fed, 12 pounds per day, proved to be insufficient. At the end of the feeding period the steers fed alfalfa had lost 26.3 pounds per head and those fed sericea hay had lost 54.3 pounds per head. One steer in the sericea lot was obviously in poor condition. If the record of this steer is eliminated the average loss for the other steers was 41.8 pounds per head. During this trial the weather was very inclement because of snow and sleet, but the cattle had shelter under a shed having a southern exposure. The weather together with the poor quality of sericea hay will in part explain the losses in weight. Wylie and Hinton (38) have reported on feeding trials with sericea in four combinations. Three dairy cows were fed all the hay they would consume, as well as fixed amounts of silage and concentrates. Each of the four trials was carried through °C. A.Helm. Letter to the author, August 26, 1936. * Work done cooperatively by the Bureaus of Plant Industry and Animal Industry. SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS D5 a 20-day period. The results are shown in table 6. The cows did not eat sericea as readily as alfalfa, but they seem to have done well on it. No information is given on the quality of the hay fed. TABLE 6.—Hay consumed by 3 cows during each of four 20-day feeding periods and the milk and butterfat produced and gain in weight made! Ha med mee eae Milk pro- | Butterfat | Gain in peniod Kind een duced produced | weight Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds harst 2. ne ae EG estes ewe 8 268.3 2,204.4 81.72 63 d ts sigs zi 88.5 | J Second __ l\Alialfa?® eee Re 249.9 l 1,946.4 78.32 39 Third___ | Equal parts of sericea and alfalfa, ground __ 681.0 ICA al LOATH 86 Fourth _| Sericea and molasses*__ 360.4 1,392.3 62.30 TT 1 Records of Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station (22). 230 pounds of silage and 10 pounds of concentrates per cow per day were also fed. 3 Sericea and alfalfa fed on alternate days. #10 pounds of ground sericea to 1 pound of molasses. In every case for which data are available where sericea hay has been compared with alfalfa the sericea was cut at a later stage than it should have been cut. Even where it is called good, the analysis shows that the growth must have been 18 or more inches high. As will be shown later (p. 26), it is now known that hay cut at a height of 15 or more inches contains more tannin than that cut earlier. This alone may explain some of the unsatisfactory results from feeding sericea to high-pro- ducing dairy cows. Feeding trials with hay cut at 10 to 12 inches in height are greatly needed. Until there is a record of a number of these and until good sericea hay has been com- pared with grass hay as well as with alfalfa, the real value of sericea for feeding will not be known. A number of farmers have reported their experiences and while these do not cover comparative experiments, they do express the view that the results with mules, horses, and cattle have been good. There are reports from every State from Virginia to Oklahoma on feeding sericea exclusively for from 1 to 3 years with good results. A county agent in southwestern Virginia re- ported that mules were carried over winter on sericea hay alone and were in better condition than the year before when they had grain and clover and timothy hay. Farmers in various parts of Tennessee have reported that horses and mules thrive on sericea hay and that in many cases feeding corn has been dis- continued as unnecessary. Hogs were said not to relish the hay and some cattle did not like sericea hay at first but did well after getting used to it. ae) 6 CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE It seems proper to conclude that when sericea is cut at the right stage and well cured it will make a hay little, if any, less efficient in feeding value than a falfa. If allowed to become too old the value of sericea hay may fall to about 80 percent of that of alfalfa, but even then it is not a bad maintenance ration on wh.ch to carry cattle and horses through the winter. lt should not be forgotten that a comparison of sericea grown on poor land and alfalfa grown on fertile land is scarcely fair. Sericea hay should be compared with that of annual lespedeza or with Bermuda grass hay grown on land of low fertility. TANNIN IN SERICEA Hay?° All species of lespedeza so far studied contain some tannin. Almost nothing is known of the quality of this tannin, and different methods of analyss give varying results as to the quantity. About 3 to 4 percent of tannin has been found in the annual lespedezas. Oak leaves, which frequently serve as browse in the west, contain tannin. The seasonal variation in tannin in sericea lespedeza has been studied by Clarke, Frey, and Hyland (3). Tannin analyses were made beginning May 29 through July 31, at approximately weekly intervals, of the leaves and stems of sericea hay produced at the ArlL.ngton Experiment Farm, Arlington, Va. Table 7 shows the proportion of leaves and stems and the tannin content at the different stages of growth. The material studied was about 15 inches high when the first cutting was made on May 29. It is evident from these data that most of the tannin is in the leaves TABLE 7.—Proportion of leaves and stems in designated cuttings of Lespedeza cuneata, moisture-free plant, and tannin content in the leaves, stems, and whole hay, Arlington Experiment Farm,-V a.; 1935! [American Leather Chemists Association method ] ° “ti Se Proportion of pias Proportion of qanninin POEL Tannin in— plant in— plant in— Date of Date of eutting || eutting 7 Leaves| Stems | Leaves} Stems wihele Leaves| Stems | Leaves} Stems Whole ay ay | Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- cent cent cent cent cent cent cent cent cent cent May 29°761.6)) 38:47) 7.5). 1:24) 5.0 dialye (32) 482280183 bea 10 June 5 | 65.5 | 34.5 |11.0|) 1.4] 7.7 10 | 43.8 | 56.2 | 16.6 | 1 IPAS) ORS Ea pana ea ESL hs here: LT | 44565),.00:4 lial ok 20 | 55.8 | 44.2 | 14.8] 1.6) 9.0 2A AAA -07 || lele Sia le 263) 49:6; | 504g 15.45) 1-0) Sal i CCNY ere We) SARDS 31 | 42.8 | 57.2 | 18.0 1 From CLARK, FREY, and HYLAND (3). The tannin content of whole hay was calculated from the figures for the leaf and stem portions. 10 From cooperative studies on the tannin content of lespedezas by the Indus- trial Farm Products Research Division, Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, and the Division of Forage Crops and Diseases, Bureau of Plant Industry. Se SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS 27 and that the quantity increases rapidly. Between May 29 and June 26 the tannin content of the leaves double while there was no change in the amount in the stem. Changes in tann_n content over the entire growing season were noted at Statesville, N. C., by Stitt and Clarke (33). In this experiment tannin in the leaves of sericea increased until June 30, then gradually declined. The first and last samples collected contained less than half as much tannin as the midseason ones. A comparison of the data in tables 3 and 7 brings out the fact that as the sericea becomes o!der the protein content declines while the tannin content is on the increase. Further studies of the tannin-protein relationship were made by Stitt and Hyland (34) of samples of sericea collected from Georgia, Mississ:ppi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virgin'a. These studies clearly showed that as the protein content declined, the tannin content increased in the leaves of sericea lespedeza. This fact emphasizes the importance of early cutting. When cut at a height of not over 15 inches, the protein content will be high and the tannin content low. The variation in the tannin content of sericea, as affected by soil type, was studied by Stitt, Hyland and McKee (35). They found the tannin content of the leaves to vary significantly with soil type and between cuttings made at different dates of a season on the same soil. The effect of fertilizers on the tannin content has been studied at Experiment, Ga. (8). In these studies the tannin content has been lowered pro- gressively by applications of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), nitrogen (N)-P-K, and N-P-K plus limestone. Relatively great variation in leaf tannin between plants of sericea was found by Stitt (31). Since the variations in tannin were too great to be attributed to differences in environmental conditions, the possibilities of developing low tannin strains through breeding appear most promising. Apparently there is no reason to fear bad effects unless hay cut at too advanced a growth stage is fed in large quantities to high- producing dairy cattle. For these it may be wise to use grass hay as part of the ration or to alternate sericea hay and alfalfa or grass hay so as to reduce the total intake of tannin. Winter grain has been successfully drilled into a field of sericea in late fall, and the resulting growth cut for hay when the grain was in the dough stage. Where grain will make a good growth under such conditions a crop of mixed grain-lespedeza hay of excellent quality can be harvested. Feeding such mixed hay will result in reducing the quantity of tannin consumed. No definite information has yet been secured on the question of the possible effect of tannin on the health of animals. It has been thought that an excessive intake of tannin may cause dis- turbances, but nothing is known as to what an excessive intake may be. While theoretically such disturbances may be possible, enough hay has been fed by farmers to show that they do not usually result. The steers fed at Beltsville, Md., did not suffer nor apparently did the steers fed at the Tennessee Experiment IS CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE a Station. The cows grazing sericea at Beltsville and at Green Ridge, Mo., remained in good condition. Reports from farmers who have fed sericea hay almost exclusively for 2 to 3 years emphasize the fact that the stock, especially horses and mules, remained in excellent condition. If the livestock industry is to be encouraged in the South there should be a source of cheap hay. Sericea will supply this on land too badly worn to be used profitably for cultivated crops. SERICEA MEAL Sericea has been ground into meal and fed to dairy cows and calves and is said to have given good results. One dairyman re- ports that calves are less troubled with diarrhea when fed sericea meal. One manufacturer of feeds is using it to some extent to replace material of lower value in low-priced feeds. The protein content of the sericea meal is higher than that of the material for which it is substituted. Sericea meal is said not to have been satisfactory for very young chicks but to be useful for older ones and in one case the dry leaves are said to have been eaten by laying fowls as readily as alfalfa leaves (23). SILAGE Sericea can be ensiled, and when ensiled with molasses the tan- nin content of the silage is less than in hay made from plants cut at the same stage of maturity. Only preliminary work has been done by the Bureau of Plant Industry and by the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station, but the results have been encour- aging enough to warrant the following statement by Mooers (21) : Highly palatable sericea silage can be made by the so-called molasses method, as devised for alfalfa and other legumes. A sample of silage made in this way was found to be nearly tannin-free, which explains its superior palata- bility. Sericea silage has much higher protein and mineral contents than corn silage and would, therefore, appear to be more nutritious. Since the cost of raising sericea is very low, and nearly as much dry matter is produced per acre as by a corn crop on the same land, sericea silage may prove of great value to the livestock industry. A final conclusion on the value of sericea silage must await adequate feeding trial. SERICEA FOR GRAZING Perhaps the most controversial subject in the entire problem of the utilization of sericea is its use in grazing. Some farmers and experiment-station workers have declared that cattle will not graze sericea. On the other hand, there are accumulating records of successful grazing extending to nearly every State from the Atlantic coast to Oklahoma. The fact is that sericea has been grazed with good results but that some cattle refuse it. Cattle also refused sweetclover when it first became common in the Corn Beit. It is probably true that sericea is not so palatable to:some kinds of livestock as young grass, clover, or annual les- SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS IG pedeza, but cattle can learn to like it, and when they do good resu.ts follow. Sericea has high carrying capacity and makes its growth during the summer when bluegr ass, redtop, and orchard grass are in poor condition. At the Beltsville, Md., animal-husbandry farm a 6-acre field containing 1 acre of mixed-grass pasture, 2 of sericea and annual lespedeza, and 3 of sericea only has been grazed for several years. Seven Shorthorn heifers were turned on in the spring (May 8, 1935) and kept there without supplementary feed until October 23. The total gain was 560 pounds for the seven head. A similar lot of cattle on permanent grass pasture, the same season, gained 198 pounds. The cattle did not graze the sericea until about July 15, when it was about 2 feet high. They grazed it down to a few inches and kept it there until they were taken off on Oc- tober 23. In 1934, Hereford steers were used. They a'so fed on the sericea when it was 24 inches high and grazed it down to 10 inches by August 10, when they were removed. A heavy new growth was made, and on September 26, cows were turned into this pasture. They ate the sericea readily and cut it down to 8 inches by November 6.14 The Missouri Experiment Station (11) records an experience with grazing at Green Ridge, Mo. The cattle were turned from good sweetclover pasture to the sericea field June 15 and for the first few days showed a distaste for the crop. Later they grazed it freely. The milk flow while the stock were on sericea remained constant and equal to that from sweetclover. At the Mississippi branch station at McNeill sericea has been grazed for several years; in fact, grazed so hard that the stand has been weakened. In Ohio, sericea in a permanent pasture was grazed apparently as well as the other plants. A farmer in southeastern Virginia has grazed a hillside field of sericea for 3 years, turning the cows on it in spring and keeping them there all summer. In western Kentucky in 1934 a farmer grazed his sericea with horses, mules, and dairy cows (fig. 10). In western Tennessee a farmer has grazed a 20-acre fie'd for two seasons, and the cattle when sold in fall were as good as grass-fed cattle. This land is so poor that a grass pasture would yield almost nothing. Another Tennessee farmer, on good land, has grazed sericea for 3 years with cattle, hogs, and horses. He turns the stock on early. A farmer in Oklahoma reports having grazed his field with sheep and dairy cows from May 10 to frost. A Kentucky farmer kept 15 animal units on 8 acres of sericea from early spring until late June, when he took them off to cut a hay crop late in July. In the dry season of 1936 in north-central Tennessee, 40 cattle were kept on 4 acres for 6 weeks during which time they had no other feed. The possibility that the failure to secure good gains on sericea in some instances might be due to the differences in botanical composition of the sericea pastures, particularly on eroded, less fertile soils, was in part pespanetvle for the initiation of additional 11 Work done cooperatively. by the Biren of Plant Industry and Amal Industry. 30 CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FiGURE 10.—Cows grazing sericea in Kentucky in November. Two crops of hay had previously been taken from this field. FIGURE 11.—Steers on sericea at Beltsville, Md. Note that the sericea is uni- formly and closely grazed. Photographed Oct. 14, 1940. SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS 31 grazing trials at Beltsville, Md., in 1939 (12). In these tests yearling steers in 1939 and 1942 failed to make satisfactory gains on pure stands of sericea. Although the sericea was uni- formly grazed to a height of 6-8 inches in 1940 and 1941 (fig. 11), the 2- and 3-year old steers produced only 43.2 pounds of beef per acre on sericea, as compared to 103.6 pounds for similar lots on permanent grass pasture. Each year the steers were turned onto the pasture when the new shoots of sericea had reached a height of 4 to 6 inches, usualy around May 15. These results definitely indicate that on infert.le sandy soils of this area, sericea in pure stands is not a satisfactory grazing plant. The absence of grasses, other species, and the lack of adequate fertilization undoubtedly lowered the palatability and nutritive value of seri- cea, thereby lowering animal gains on pasture. Highly satisfactory returns are reported in recent grazing trials with sericea in South Carolina (18). At Clemson, a 4.2 acre plot was grazed with four large heifers in 1945 and 1946. A 4-aecre pasture at the Sandhill station, near Columbia, was grazed at the average rate of 6.9 lightweight Guernsey heifers in 1946. The stand of sericea on 3 acres of the 4.2 acres of pasture at Clemson was excellent. Hop clover, Bermuda grass, crabgrass and nutgrass were prevalent on the remaining 1.2 acres. At the Sandhill station, sericea comprised 85 percent of the herbage, with crabgrass making up the balance. Live weight gains per acre were 169 and 100 pounds at Clemson for the 2 years 1945-46, and 357 pounds per acre at the Sandhill station for the year 1946. Sericea was considered inferior to Kobe lespedeza at the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station (25) in a grazing trial at that station in 1944. As pointed out in the report, the sericea was 18 inches tall at the beginning of the grazing period. There was little evidence that the crop was grazed until August 1. After the sericea was mowed on August 1, the cattle kept the second crop grazed to a height of 6 to 10 inches. Since most of the gains on sericea were made after mowing, it was concluded that close grazing is necessary in the successful utilization of the crop. In further studies, real differences in palatability due to fer- tilizers were noted in 1946 on this same sericea pasture. Cattle grazed but little on plots receiving no fertilizer. Plots receiving 500 pounds of 0-12-12!" were moderately grazed while those re- ceiving 1,000 pounds of 0-12-12 fertilizer were heavily grazed. Fertilizers were applied in 1945, but palatability differences were not apparent until 1946. Workers at the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, at Auburn, Ala., have been very successful in the utilization of sericea in a year-round grazing program (9). In this system sericea lespedeza was the main summer grazing plant. Kudzu was pastured during prolonged dry periods in the summer to rest the sericea. Excellent gains have been secured each year of th 3- 12 Percentages, respectively, of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash. 32 CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE year period, 1944-46. Regarding the palatability and grazing management of sericea, Grimes and Sturkie, in the Auburn re- port, state, “The sericea was grazed from April 13 to November 16 (8-year average) except for temporary periods of drought. The statement has frequently been made that cattle do not relish sericea. While they evidently like some other crops better, no difficulty was experienced in getting the animals to graze the sericea in this experiment. It was found that it was important to start cattle on the sericea early in the spring, when young shoots are 3 to 4 inches high. Close grazing has been practiced in order to prevent the plants from becoming coarse, woody and bitter.” One of the most promising land-use developments has been the use of sericea to build up the fertility levels of poor upland fields intended for pasture, “paying its own way” by supplying hay and seed crops for the first 3 or 4 years. The sericea may then be fenced for grazing. Workers at the Southern Piedmont Con- servation Experiment Station, at Watkinsville, Ga., have success- fully overseeded winter grains with sericea, grasses, and legumes to provide winter grazing. These various species are seeded in the fall following a light disking of the sericea. Crimson clover, burclover, ryegrass, and fescue grass are among the preferred volunteering winter grazing crops that have succeeded in this practice. Mixtures of sericea with tall fescue and with orchard grass are being tested. In tests at the Tennessee Valley Substation, at Belle Mina, Ala. (2), a combination of sericea and crimson clover has pro- vided almost constant grazing with the exception of 39 days in a 730-day period. Between October 1, 1945, and September 27, 1946, both crops were pastured for 322 days. For 15 days the grazing rate was 2 animals on the area; for 71 days, 6 animals; and for 101 days, 5 animals. To allow the crops to mature seed, the animals were withheld 21 days in May for the crimson clover and 18 days in September for the sericea crop. In the next period the area was pastured continuously for 369 days. From May 1, 1946, to October 1, 1946, six heifers gained 710 pounds on sericea, or 417 pounds per acre. Heavy annual applications of phosphate and potash are necessary to successfully utilize the sericea-crimson clover combination for grazing in this area. Enough experience has been gained to warrant the statement that for land of low fertility few, if any, plants will furnish as good a cover and at the same time provide as much summer grazing as sericea. Studies indicate that grazing is most suc- cessful when the cattle are turned on when the sericea is about 4 to 6 inches high. At that stage of growth it appears to be palatable. Growth is so rapid, however, that care must be taken to graze heavily so that the sericea may not become too coarse. If growth is too rapid, it should be clipped. Heavy early grazing and removal of stock to annual lespedeza pasture in late June appears to be a good plan. At this time the annual lespedeza will be in excellent shape for grazing, and the sericea may be allowed to produce a hay crop. SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS oe SEED PRODUCTION Sericea is a heavy seeder. When sericea is planted in cultivated rows seed will be produced the first season. Yields of 500 to 1,000 pounds per acre have been reported from such plantings. A broadcast stand in its fifth year at Arlington Experiment Farm produced 1,600 pounds of unhulled seed per acre, but conditions were very favorable. Yields from established broadcast stands have ranged from 300 to 900 pounds per acre. Yields are smaller in a dry fall than when there is plenty of moisture. ‘Seed may be taken from the first or from the second growth. When the first growth is left for seed, yields are somewhat higher but the material is harder to cut and thresh than when the first growth is cut for hay and the second growth is allowed to seed. The yield of seed from the second growth will depend on the time the first growth is cut for hay. Usually the earlier the first growth is cut the larger the seed crop from the second growth. The seeds are borne in clusters of two to four or more in a place. There are two kinds of flowers, those that show a corolla and are consequently conspicuous and those on which no corolla is de- veloped. Both may occur in the same cluster. The flowers develop mainly along the branches but to some extent also along the main stem to within a few inches from the ground. HARVESTING The seed pod of sericea turns brown at maturity and the crop should not be cut until most of the pods are brown. In the latitude of Washington, D. C., the crop matures about the end of October and should be cut as soon as possible thereafter. Cutting may be done with a mower having a windrowing attachment (fig. 6, p. 17), with a binder, or with a combine. If the crop is cut with a sharp mower in early morning and laid to one side with a windrower there is very little loss of seed. It should be allowed to lie in the windrows until the leaves and the smaller stems, if present, have dried. The stems and main branches should be a little moist, as in this condition there will be less breakage in threshing. | Threshing is best done with an overshot type of thresher having a concave with two rows of teeth above, rather than below, the cylinder. This makes for less breakage of the stems and it is these broken stems that stand up in the screen and cause choking. Feeding should be slow and the wind cut to the proper degree or much seed will be blown out with the straw. Many growers using various types of threshers or combines have found it necessary to modify the screens or to remove some in order to prevent excessive choking. As a rule it is best not to attempt to clean the seed in the thresher but to pass it through a fanning mill. This makes for easier threshing and produces cleaner seed. Small combines may be used successfully, but the sericea should be riper than is necessary when it is cut with a mower. The secret of successful threshing appears to be slow feeding, controlled wind, and screens modified to avoid choking. 34 CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Hulling and scarifying can be done by a clover huller or by one of the commercial scarifiers now in general use. For scarify- ing small quantities for home use, a barrel scarifier (15), which may be made at home, or an old concrete mixer may be used. The container should have 1.5 pounds of gravel to 1 pound of seed. The stones should range from one-half to three-quarters of an inch in diameter. When the seed has been hulled in these machines, it is also scarified. APPEARANCE, WEIGHT, AND NUMBER OF SEEDS The unhulled seed is brown, about one-eighth of an inch long, pointed, slightly reticulated, and hairy. The calyx of sericea very rarely remains with the pod; that of the annual lespedezas commonly does remain. The hulled seed is shaped like red clover seed but is smaller, greenish yellow, and somewhat mottled with brown (fig. 12). A measured bushel of clean sericea seed in the hull weighs about 34 pounds; hulled seed, 60 pounds. There are between 275,000 and 300,000 seeds in a pound of unhulled and 335,000 to 375,000 in a pound of scarified seed. A seeding rate of 20 pounds of scarified seed per acre will, if evenly distributed, place some 770 to 850 seeds on each square foot of surface. The loss in weight in hulling should not exceed 25 percent. Higher losses up to 40 or more percent have been reported, but this was probably because the unhulled seed was not well cleaned. FIGURE 12.—Pods and seeds of Lesp°’deza cuneata. (About 2 times natural size. ) WILDLIFE USES All lespedeza seeds are relished by birds, and plantings of sericea have been proved to be well suited to this purpose. Not only are the seeds useful for food but the plants make an ideal cover for quail. The fact that the seeds are borne some distance from the ground and hang on until well into the winter is an additional advantage in sections where snow may make it difficult for birds to get the seeds of low-growing plants. In a study of quail foods Stoddard (36) found that when quail had become accustomed to SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS 35 sericea seed they ate it freely and that it is a valuable late winter food. Further evidence of this use of sericea seed has been ob- tained in Virginia by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Along margins of woods (fig. 13), on banks too steep for cul- tivation, in gullies, and in other places subject to erosion sericea may well be planted for no other purpose than to encourage wild- life by providing cover and food. Even in such places the first growth may often be cut for hay and the second allowed to produce seed without damaging in the least its part in erosion control and wildlife preservation. FIGURE 13.—Sericea for wildlife on the margin of a wood. SERICEA, A SELF-MULCHING CROP From the soil conservation and soil improvement standpoint, one of the most valuable characteristics of sericea is its self- mulching habit. In good stands, sericea invariably shades itself to the extent that vast numbers of lower leaves are shed during the growing season to form a protective mat on the surface of the soil. Depending on the manner of harvesting the crop, the mat of leaf residue on the ground may accumulate at the rate of one-half to 2 tons per acre per year. Maximum accumulations have been measured amounting to 14 tons per acre" of leaf litter 13 Adams, William E., A Preliminary Report of Sericea Lespedeza Ground Cover Studies with Related Data and Observations. (U.S.D.A.-S.C.S. Mimeo- graphed Publication.) Southern Piedmont Cons. Expt. Sta., Watkinsville, Ga. Janel 147 5 pp: 36 CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE remaining on the surface after 8 or 9 years’ growth in a seed- | producing stand. During warm moist weather conditions, the leaf litter closely in contact with the soil decays to form a valuable source of organic material for soil improvement purposes. Sericea “manures” the land as it grows. The existence the year around of the protective surface mat of leaf litter in perennial stands of sericea is of prime significance to the soil conservationist. Once the layer of leaf litter has been formed, there is scant possibility that sheet erosion can occur. Similarly, runoff is greatly retarded as clear rainwater filters down rapidly through the surface mulch and is quickly absorbed. The woody stem residue, left on the field after com- bine harvesting sericea seed, makes good mulch material for road banks, galled spots, gardens and for composting. Conse- quently, sericea has vast potentialities as both a protective and soil improving conservation cover crop for beneficial use on millions of eroded acres of open land, especially in the hilly sections of the Southeast. SOIL IMPROVEMENT WITH SERICEA Sericea is a deep-rooted legume and under suitable conditions the roots are well nodulated. The badly eroded soils throughout the lespedeza area are very deficient in organic matter. In 1943, at the Southern Piedmont Conservation Experiment Station," experimental plots in sericea on Class III land contained 0.827 percent of organic matter. The same land still in sericea 6 years later, contained 1.251 percent, an increase of 51 percent in con- tent of organic matter. On the poorer Class IV land, the com- parable figures for soil organic matter were 0.853 and 1.174 per- cent, respectively, an increase of 37.5 percent. The nitrogen content of the soils showed a corresponding increase. Two or more cuttings for hay were taken each year from these plots of sericea. An experiment designed to evaluate sericea as a soil improving crop has been conducted at the West Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station at Jackson, Tenn. (22). One range of plots | on Lintonia silt loam soil was seeded to sericea in 1930. A hay and a seed crop was usually harvested from the area each year. Be- ginning in 1933, and each year thereafter through 1943, two plots were plowed up and planted to corn. Corn was continued each year on these plots. Table 8 shows the average yield of corn in bushels per acre for the first through the eleventh year after sericea. The average yield of unfertilized corn from a nearby range for the same period was 17.5 bushels per acre with a seasonal variation from 8.6 to 27.2 bushels. The data show average corn yields of 70.3 bushels the first year after sericea. 14 Gosdin, Gittis W., The Nitrogen Content, Carbon-Nitrogen Ratio, and Organic Matter Content of Acid Soil as Influenced by Different Cropping Systems on Classes II, III, and IV Land. (Unpublished Ms. Thesis, Univ. of Ga., Agronomy Dept.) 1949. SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS ai TABLE 8.—Average yields of corn following sericea at the West Tennessee Agricultural Hxperiment Station, 1933-43 Year after Yearsin| Yield per Year after Yearsin| Yield per sericea average acre sericea average acre Bushels Bushels 1S a let ge ital Ose [ie GMs ae cae 5 36.1 PAIN letestui e Se) 10 Gb-O4igeSth es a. 4 34.7 ‘Sy a eas Se ) Boke 20 Ghia te 3 28.5 PANG ers st PI 8 ESA coa CO ol osx ceaacaa ce 2 28.8 Biblia steer: erie 7 AG sWell let ay ste eos 1 21.4 Re largest Scene 6 41.2 | Yields decline each year of continuous corn. However, there is an evident response from sericea 8 years after the sericea is turned under. Chemical analyses of the mulch material of the 15-year old sericea plots and of 1-inch layers of soil under the mulch indicated an increase of 750 pounds of nitrogen per acre attributable to sericea. Yields of cotton following sericea, as compared to cotton yields obtained in a 3-year rotation of corn, wheat, cowpeas, and cotton, are reported from the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station, at Experiment, Ga. (7). Higher seed cotton yields were secured from plots following sericea throughout the 5-year period, 1939- 43. In 1943, 5 years after the sericea was turned under, 121 pounds, or 23 percent, more seed cotton was produced on the plots following sericea than from those in the general crop rotation. These results are in marked contrast with those secured from annual legumes where little or no response can be detected after the first or second year. A need for phosphate and potash on crops following sericea, particularly when sericea hay crops had been removed, was noted in these investigations. Comparative corn yields were secured from 2- and 4-year rota- tions at the Southern Piedmont Conservation Station at Watkins- ville, Ga. The 2-year rotation consisted of cotton, vetch for green manure, and corn. The 4-year rotation consisted of oats for hay- sericea, sericea for hay, sericea for hay and seed, and corn. The average yields of corn from the 2- and 4-year rotations in 1949 were 16.2 and 38.2 bushels of corn per acre, respectively. It would not be feasible to quote all experimental results con- cerning the soil improving qualities of sericea. It may be stated with confidence that eroded soils will be materially improved in productivity after having been in sericea for a term of years. SERICEA FOR EROSION CONTROL The vigorous growth and extensive root system of sericea even on eroded and worn land lead to the conclusion that it should be an excellent crop to aid in the control of erosion. This conclusion has been confirmed by experience. In the soil conservation cam- paign no other perennial legume has been found so widely useful for the region to which it is adapted. 38 CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Continuous measurements of rainfall, runoff and soil loss have been obtained at Watkinsville, Ga.,!° for several cropping methods during the 10-year period, 1940-49. On steep, badly-eroded hill- side class IV land of Cecil clay, with a 11 percent slope, a com- parison of runoff on plots in continuous cotton, and on plots in sericea lespedeza was made. During the first year, 1940, both the runoff and soil losses were considerably higher from the sericea plot than from the cotton plot, as shown in table 9. This is typical of. first-year results TABLE 9.—A 10-year soil and water conservation comparison of sericea lespedeza and cotton under depleted soil conditions on a steep, badly eroded hillside Sericea Continuous cotton Year Rainfall Runoff Erosion Runoff Erosion Inches Percent Tons/acre| Percent Tons/acre 1OAQR we pace : 49.49 26.7 28.81 15.6 1A be i BLO VA) Leese aera 40.06 26.2 3.49 18.0 19.67 9 A Dien ee ere 51.83 14.5 1.31 19.5 21.78 1943 wii ee: 53c3L 10.5 127 28.3 33.30 LOA A ene 49.66 11.0 08 | 24.3 26.61 GA Bre aie es were 49.87 6.4 .40 25.1 32.81 NGA GEE hoe ceet 49.51 6.4 .08 23.6 22.82 OAS a ei 54.56 1.6 .09 Qiee By ail GAS se koe seta Poe 63.46 2.9 .00 Biles 27.84 POA Gee 7 48.68 | 10) 00 | 23.1 1ST with new plantings of sericea on very thin land, as the settled clay subsoil became very hard and shed runoff readily, and the seri- cea seedlings grew slowly, giving scant protection against erosion. In the second year, 1941, the runoff from sericea remained relatively high, but the soil loss dropped to less than one-fifth as much as was lost from cotton, as the sericea stand developed its second year growth. In the early spring of the third year, a 2-ton per acre applica- tion of grain straw mulch was spread on the sericea plot, causing both runoff and erosion to be sharply reduced. During the next 7 years both soil and water losses dropped progressively almost to the vanishing point. Seed were harvested in 1941 and 1942; at least 2 hay cuttings were taken annually during the following 7 years. Cotton, grown continuously during the entire 10-year period on this class IV land, failed in each year to produce a single paying crop. Such information leads to the conclusion that sericea is ex- tremely useful in the control of erosion. During the growing season the crop provides a canopy through which even the heaviest 151948 Progress Report and Review of Results. Southern Piedmont Con- servation Exp. Sta., Watkinsville, Ga. | | | ...SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS 39 rains cannot reach the soil surface directly and in winter the living crowns and roots bind the soil. The stubble from a har- vested crop also serves as an obstruction to the flow of water. When sericea is planted for wildlife, in gullies, or on isolated places that need protection, the accumulation of leaves and stems soon forms a dense cover that protects the soil from beating rains and slows run-off. In Caldweil County, N. C., a 50-acre eroded field was seeded to sericea in 1933 and by 1937 the small gullies had healed and erosion had been completely controlled (fig. 14). In Weakley County, Tenn., a 12-acre gullied field was so smoothed in 2 years that erosion was completely controlled. In Kentucky a badly eroded field was seeded to sericea without any attempt to smooth small gullies; yet in 3 years these were being perceptively filled and erosion was no longer a problem. On various soil conserva- tion projects sericea has controlled erosion on critical slopes, banks, and eroded fields and in gullies. SERICEA IN THE SOIL CONSERVATION PROGRAM In the soil conservation program plants are needed that will control erosion, improve the soil, and at the same time return some revenue. In the area to which sericea is especially adapted the soils on which erosion is to be controlled are in the main soils of low productivity, and large revenues are not to be expected if the soil is to be protected and improved. Throughout the region to which it is adapted sericea may be used on all areas that because of slope, erodibility of soil, or un- productiveness should be retired from cultivation for long periods or permanently. It is but natural that the farmer should want to derive some revenue, and this can be provided by sericea if proper attention is paid to getting the stand and to subsequent care and utilization. Experiments and field trials using sericea in rotations have been under way at experiment stations in Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, and at Watkinsville, Ga., for several years. Extensive use of this crop in short rotations is unlikely because it is some- times difficult to secure a good stand; the first year’s growth is slow and almost certain to be weedy, and sericea does not supply a dependable harvestable crop until the second year. Most farmers require at least one harvested crop each year. Sericea does have application in 4-year or longer rotations to suit farm conditions where a deep-rooted perennial legume that will “pay its own way” is wanted for gradual soil improvement over a period of years and when neither time nor available acreage are limiting factors. In addition to the 4-year sericea-base rotation previously men- tioned, another fairly satisfactory 4-year forage crop rotation has been in observational trials at the Watkinsville station for several years. The crop successions are as follows: (1) Oats for grain, sericea seeded. (2) Sericea, cut twice for hay. 40) CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FIGURE 14.—This severely eroded hill, shown in part in (A), was later covered w.th sericea (B). Erosion is controlled and the gullies are healed. SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS 41 (3) Sericea, one hay crop plus one seed crop, oats seeded. (4) Oats for hay, followed by June-planted grain sorghum in rows. Oats are sown in sorghum row middles to repeat the rotation. In this rotation, one or more forage crop harvests are made each year. After a stand is secured, sericea needs regular fertilization. Annual applications of 300 pounds per acre of 0-14-10 or twice this rate every two years have maintained productive stands for 10 years or longer. Care must be taken not to cut too often if it is desired to maintain a vigorous growth. Sericea stands de- teriorate seriously in the Southeast in a few years’ time unless adequately fertilized. One marked advantage of sericea as a hay plant is that the crop can be harvested earlier than any other crop suited to poor soils. A farmer finding himself out of other feed in spring has but to cut his sericea, which is ready early. It is also an excellent emergency crop in an extremely dry season, when it may produce the only feed available. Sericea may be useful on steep banks and critical slopes and in stabilizing terraces (fig. 15). It is sometimes planted above a terrace channel so as to sift out the soil carried from a higher cultivated strip. This tends to keep the channel from silting. FicurE 15.—Sericea stabilizes terraces in Alabama. Sericea is being successfully used in meadow outlets. It is best to divert the water from these outlets during the seeding year, but when the cover is established it may be expected to last for many years and to carry whatever water passes through the outlet without danger of cutting. Sericea may be used where a permanent strip is desired in a cultivated field. Such a strip 42 CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE should be wide enough to cut for hay. Narrow buffer strips of sericea may also be used in critical places even if such a strip cannot be made wide enough to be cut conveniently. It will serve as a wildlife shelter and will not be a menace to the farm as would a similar strip left to grow up to weeds. Sericea is useful for stabilizing large gullies. Planted on the ridges and slopes of the gullies with the seeding temporarily pro- tected by mulch it may be expected to cover the eroded areas and prevent further growth of the gully. At the same time such an area makes an ideal wildlife resort. Plants of sericea have been set by hand on gully or road banks where seeding was difficult. Before long these plants serve to control washing and stabilize the bank. In southern Virginia many acres of hillside and gully have been planted to sericea from which the owner is said to have derived a good income for the shooting rights. SPECIES AND VARIETIES OF PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS VARIETIES OF LESPEDEZA CUNEATA Lespedeza cuneata is variable, the variations observed being in Shape of leaflets and earliness of maturity. Two varieties or strains have been introduced, Nos. 12087 and 04730. Under the same conditions No. 04730 grows a few inches taller than No. 12087, matures seed a week or two earlier, and appears to be somewhat more winter-hardy. At the West Tennessee Agri- cultural Experiment Station it has been shown that the ad- vantage in earliness and vigor of growth of No. 04730 is great enough to permit one more cutting of hay per season than of No. 12087. The Arlington variety, F.C. 19284, was developed from a single vigorous plant selected from a volunteer stand at Arlington, Va. This strain has been observed in nursery and broadcast plantings along with other strains of sericea. Because of its vigor, uniformity, and high seed yields evidenced in these trials, it is being increased in a number of Soil Conservation Districts for distribution. Other varieties have been tested by the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils and Agricultural Engineering and some mature much earlier than No. 04730. They have not, however, appeared to possess other advantages warranting in- troduction. Individual variations appear to exist in the tannin content, and this variation is being made the basis of selection for a more palatable strain. NATIVE AMERICAN SPECIES The native American species are all herbaceous perennials. Two species (Lespedeza repens and L. procumbens) are prostrate in habit, the others more or less erect. The most common species have been described (29). Of these L. virginica most nearly resembles L. cuneata in habit and leaf form and has often been mistaken for the latter. JL. frutescens is said to have been eaten by cattle. These species all contain tannin, but no analyses have been made of material at different stages of growth. Information on the effect of age on tannin content is, therefore, not available. iE LE SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS 42 The American species never occur in dense stands but affect dry, gravelly banks, margins of woods, and other well-drained areas. These species are all subject to a rust (Uromyces lespe- dezae-procumbentis) that may be severe enough to cause defolia- tion. The oriental species grown in the United States are fortunately free from this rust. In Japan a rust described under the above name has been reported from several species (13). Teliospores of this form have been found on pods and leaf debris imported with seed from the Orient, and Mains!® has shown that such teliospores may germinate. There appear to be two physio- logical races of this rust, one confined to the American species and the other to the oriental forms. Since it is possible for teliospores of the oriental form to germinate, the greatest care should be taken in importing seed from the Orient lest this form become established on the oriental species introduced into the United States. OTHER PERENNIAL SPECIES A few of the other herbaceous perennials have been grown in the Arlington Experiment Farm nurseries and elsewhere (fig. 16). FicuRE 16.—Nursery of perennial lespedeza at Arlington Experiment Farm, Va. This farm was discontinued in 1940. Of these a species tentatively identified as Lespedeza juncea ap- pears to offer promise as an erosion-control plant. From prelimi- nary trials it seems that the seeds germinate somewhat more quickly and that the seedlings make a somewhat more rapid growth 16}. B. Mains, botanist, Indiana State Agricultural Experiment Station. Letter to author, May 12, 1930. 44 CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE than those of sericea This conclusion is based on a number of observations, but no exact measurements are available. L. 7uncea resembles L. cuneata but is somewhat more bushy and less leafy and does not grow as tall and erect as L. cuneata. The stems are reddish, and the leaflets are long and oval, not truncate as in L. cuneata (28). From the few determinations so far made it is believed to have about the same tannin content as L. cuneata. Its value for forage has not been determined. Lespedeza latissima has a prostrate or semiprostrate habit. In one strain, No. 19283, the branches lie flat on the ground. Another strain, No. 19285, produces numerous stems that are at first erect but soon bend down so that the plant forms a low bush about 1 foot high. Other species belonging to the sericea group are L. in- schanica, having larger leaflets and coarser growth, and L. cys- toides, having long narrow, pointed leaflets. These have been described (28) but have not been tested for erosion control or forage value. Lespedeza daurica appears in two forms, one erect, the other prostrate. Both have coarse stems, relatively few in number, and coarse leaves. Seed production is abundant, and the species may have value as food for wildlife. L. tomentosa is a coarse, erect plant with large tough leaves. With the possible exception of the use of the seeds by game birds these two species do not appear to be of economic importance. FIGURE 17.—Lespedeza bicolor holding a bank. SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS 45 Of the oriental shrubby species Lespedeza bicolor, L. japonica, and L. thunbergu have long been known in North America as ornamental plants, sometimes under other names (7). Other ornamental species have been reported as being cultivated in Europe, as L. delavayi, which has deep-violet or purplish-black flowers (6). L. bicolor is also being used in the Soil Conservation Service along stream banks for wildlife food. It may prove useful for stabilizing the sides of gullies and banks (fig. 17). L. bicolor has been grown in Japan experimentally for hay production. Yields and quality are said to have been good (17). This species is also reported as having been used in Korea and Japan for erosion control on steep slopes. In Korea stress is laid on the need for inoculation. It is advisable to mix the seed with soil known to be well inoculated and to sow in shallow furrows on the contour. Under such treatment it is said to do well on sterile, badly eroded areas. The stems of L. bicoloyv are used in Korea for basket making. A closely related species, Lespedeza cyrtobotrya, has been grown in the Arlington Experiment Farm nurseries and at various points in the South. While the leaves of L. bicolor and L. cyrto- FIGURE 18.—Seeds of Lespedeza cuneata (A) are smaller than those of L. bi- color (B). (About 1% times natural size.) 46 CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE botrya are much alike, the flowering panicles of bicolor are ex- panded while those of cyrtobotrya are borne in dense axillary clusters. Both species contain tannin in about the same per- centages as that found in sericea at a comparable stage of maturity. Only a few determinations have been made, however, and no statement of average tannin content can be made. In the latitude of Washington the current growth of these and of other shrubby species is often killed nearly to the ground. In that case new growth comes from the crowns as well as from the stubs that escape the cold. In Georgia the current growth is not killed back far and the plants become woody shrubs with several stems from the crown, each stem an inch or more in diameter. The pods and seeds of the shrubby species are much larger than those of the herbaceous species (fig. 18). From the few observa- tions, made they appear to be preferred by quail to those of Les- pedeza cuneata. The loss in hulling of L. bicolor was found to be 30 to 35 percent. A pound of unhulled seed contains 50,000 to 60,000 seeds. CHROMOSOME NUMBERS IN SERICEA Chromosome numbers have been determined for a few species and it is apparent that some variations occur. As reported by Cooper (4) the chromosome number of Lespedeza cuneata and of L. variegata [L. inschanica| is 18, of L. stipulacea and of L. to- mentosa, 20, and of L. daurica, 36. Kawakami (16) has reported 9 as the haploid chromosome number of L. bicolor, L. cyrtobotrya, L. homoloba, L. sieboldii, and L. sieboldi, var. albiflora. The haploid number should be multiplied by two to correspond to those reported by Cooper. LiERA LURES ChiEp Gh) S Balin Ye ale nee 1941. LESPEDEZA. His The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. v. 2, pp. 1844-1845, illus. (2) BRACKEEN, L. O. 1948. A GOOD COMBINATION: LESPEDEZA SERICEA AND CRIMSON CLOVER. Better Crops with Plant Food. 32 (1): 17-18, 49, illus. (3) CLARKE, I. D., FREY, R. W., and HYLAND, H. L. 1939. SEASONAL VARIATION IN TANNIN CONTENT OF LESPEDEZA SERICEA. Jour. Agr. Res. 58: 131-139, illus. (4) CoopsEr, D. C. 1936. CHROMOSOME NUMBERS IN THE LEGUMINOSAE. Amer. Jour. Bot. 23: 231—238, illus. (5) EDWARDS, F. R. ; 1937. SERICEA LESPEDEZA FOR FATTENING LAMBS. Amer. Soc. Anim. Prod. Proc. 19387: 156-158. (6) FRANCHET, L. ; 1890. LES LESPEDEZA DE LA CHINE OCCIDENTALE. Rev. Hort. [Paris] 62: 225-227, illus. (7) GEORGIA EXPERIMENT STATION. [1944] FIFTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. Ga. Expt. Sta. Ann. Rpt. [1943- 44], 91 pp. illus. (8) (9) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (212) (22) (23) (24) (25) SERICEA AND OTHER PERENNIAL LESPEDEZAS ANGE 1946. FIFTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT. Ga. Expt. Sta. Ann. Rpt. [1945-46], 131 pp. illus. GRIMES, J. C., and STURKIE, D. G. 1949. A YEAR ROUND FEED AND FORAGE CROPPING SYSTEM FOR BEEF CAT- TLE IN THE PIEDMONT AND UPPER COASTAL PLAIN REGIONS. Ala; Agr. Wixpt. Sta. Prog.’ Rpt. Ser. 7%, 8 pp. (Rev.) [ Processed. | HANSON, C. H. 1948. CLEISTOGAMY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EMBRYO SAC IN LESPEDEZA STIPULACEA. Jour. Agr. Res. 67: 265-272, illus. HELM, C. A., and ETHERIDGE, W. C. 1933. LESPEDEZA SERICEA: THE NEWEST LEGUME FOR MISSOURI. Mo. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bul. 331, 15 pp., illus. HENSON, P. R., HEIN, M. A., HAZEN, M. W., and BLACK, W. H. 1942. CATTLE GRAZING EXPERIMENTS WITH SERICEA LESPEDEZA AT BELTS- VILLE, MARYLAND. Jour. Ani. Sci. 2: 314-320. HIRATSUKA, N., and ToBINA, FE. 1985. STUDIES ON UROMYCES PA®PASITIC ON JAPANESE SPECIES OF LESPE- DEZA AND MICROLESPEDEZA. Ann. Phytopath. Soc. Japan [Tokyo] 4: 145-171 [In Japanese. English summary, p. le Ale || HoLpAway, C. W., ELLETT, W. B., EHEART, J. F., and Pratt, A. D. 1936. KOREAN LESPEDEZA AND LESPEDEZA SERICEA HAYS FOR PRODUCING MILK. Va. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bul. 305, 7 pp. Hurst, W. M., HumpuHrtEs, W. R., and MCKEE, R. 1935. BARREL AND DISK SEED SCARIFIERS. U.S. Dept. Agr. Cir. 345. 24 pp., illus. KAWAKAMI, J. 1930. CHROMOSOME NUMBERS IN LEGUMINOSAE. Bot. Mag. [Tokyo | 44: 319-328, illus. [In Japanese. Title also in English. ] KELLNER, O., and others. 1891. EXPERIMENTS ON THE CULTIVATION OF LESPEDEZA BICOLOR (HAGI) AS A FORAGE cROP. Imp. Univ. Col. Agr. Tokyo, Komaba, Bul. [v. 1] 9. MARSHALL, S. P. 1947. LESPEDEZA SERICEA FOR GRAZING DAIRY HEIFERS. South. Agr. Workers 44th Ann. Proc., p. 103. McCartTry, G. 1896. SOME NEW FORAGE, FIBER AND OTHER USEFUL PLANTS. N.C. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bul. 133, pp. [337 ]—8583, illus. McKEE, R., and HYLAND, H. L. 1941. APETALOUS AND PETALIFEROUS FLOWERS IN LESPEDEZA. Amer. Soc. Agron. Jour. 33: 811-815, illus. Moorers, C. A. 1938. CLOVERS AND GRASSES FOR HAY AND PASTURE. Tenn. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bul. 165, [72] pp., illus. and HAZLEWOOD, B. P. 1945. SERICEA AS A SOIL-IMPROVING CROP FOR CORN. Tenn. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bul. 197, 12 pp., illus. and OGDEN, H. P. 1935. LESPEDEZA SERICEA. Tenn. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bul. 154, [20] pp., illus. Morrison, F. B. 1937. FEEDS AND FEEDING: A HANDBOOK FOR STUDENT AND STOCKMAN. Mds20, 1050 pp.; illus: -Ithaca, N. Y- NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 1944. RESEARCH AND FARMING: 1944. N. C. Agr. Expt. Sta. Ann. Rpto7-, CProe. Rpt. No: 4), 111 pp., illus. (26) (29) (30) (31) (32) (33) (34) (35) (36) (37) (38) CIRCULAR 863, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PIEPER, J. J., SEARS, O. H., and BAUER, F. C. 1935. LESPEDEZA IN ILLINOIS. Ill. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bul. 416. pp. 301- 348, illus. PIETERS, A. J. 1934. THE LITTLE BOOK OF LESPEDEZA. 94 pp., illus. Washington, 1938. SOME LESPEDEZA RELATIONSHIPS. [U. S.] Soil Conser. 3: 265- 266, illus. 1938. THE NATIVE AMERICAN LESPEDEZAS [U. S.] Soil Conserv. 4: 84- 86, illus. 1939. THE ANNUAL LESPEDEZAS AS FORAGE AND SOIL-CONSERVING CROPS. U.S. Dept. Agr. Cir. 536, 56 pp., illus. STITT, R. E. 1948. VARIATION IN TANNIN CONTENT OF CLONAL AND OPEN-POLLINATED LINES OF PERENNIAL LESPEDEZA. Amer. Soc. Agron. Jour. 35: 944-954, illus. 1946. NATURAL CROSSING AND SEGREGATION IN SERICEA LESPEDEZA, LESPEDEZA CUNEATA. (DUMONT) G. DON. Amer. Soc. Agron. Jour. 38: pp. 1-5, illus. and CLARKE, I. D. 1941. THE RELATION OF TANNIN CONTENT OF SERICEA LESPEDEZA TO SEASON. Amer. Soc. Agron. Jour. 33: 739-742. and HYLAND, H. L. 1946. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TANNIN AND CRUDE PROTEIN OF SERICEA LESPEDEZA. Amer. Soc. Agron. Jour. 38: 454-455, illus. HYLAND, H. L., and McKEE, R. 1946. TANNIN AND GROWTH VARIATION OF A SERICEA LESPEDEZA CLONE IN RELATION TO SOIL TYPE. Amer. Soc. Agron. Jour. 38: 1003-1009. STODDARD, H. L. 1938. EXPERIMENTAL AND PRACTICAL WORK WITH GAME FOOD PLANTS. Coop. Quail Study Assoc. Ann. Rpt. 6: 8-12. UNDERWOOD, J. K. - 1935. LESPEDEZA SERICEA STEM BLIGHT. (Abstract) Phytopathology 2 2976: WYLIE, C. E., and HINTON, S. A. 1935. LESPEDEZA SERICEA FEEDING TRIALS WITH DAIRY COWS. Jour. Dairy Sci. 18: 448. vy U. S. GOVERNMENT, PRINTING OFFICE: 1950—892684 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C., Price 20 cents Sea A eS e = SISTERS VES ey, Ppl fea pae