SEEDING HIGHWAY SLOPES AS INFLUENCED BY LIME, FERTILIZER, AND ADAPTATION OF SPECIES

VARIOUS GRASSES WERE PLANTED ON EXPERIMENTAL 1:1 SLOPES AT EIGHT LOCATIONS IN VIRGINIA EXHIBITING DIFFERENT CLIMATIC AND GEOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS TO INVESTIGATE SPECIES ADAPTATION WITH DIFFERENT LIME AND FERTILIZER PRACTICES, MULCHING PRACTICES, SEEDLING COMPETITION, AND HYDROSEEDING AS RELATED TO THE USE OF COMPANION CROPS. LEGUMES WERE REPRESENTED BY RED AND WHITE CLOVER AND BY LESPEDEZA SERICEA, ALTHOUGH THE AUTHOR CONSIDERS LEGUMES TO BE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO INJURY AND LESS ADAPTABLE TO A WIDE RANGE OF CLIMATIC, SOIL, AND BIOTIC CONDITIONS. OBSERVATIONS FROM THE EXPERIMENTS ARE MADE CONCERNING MIX REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPANION CROPS, THE EFFECTS OF LIMING AND FERTILIZER UNDER VARYING CONDITIONS, TYPES AND DEGREES OF MULCHING, AND THE EFFECTS OF FERTILIZER--SLURRY CONCENTRATION AND EXPOSURE TIME ON SPECIES GERMINATION.