There is a critical need for establishing plant cover quickly along newly constructed highways. Such a sod cover should be well established so as to require a minimum of maintenance after the road construction has been completed. Many miles of new seedlings along highways turned over to the virginia department of highways for maintenance have not developed a well-established turf ready to be turned over to maintenance crews. The one-shot fertilisation and seeding practices now specified often result in failures because one or more of the factors necessary for germination, emergence, and seedling growth is adverse. Also, many newly established seedlings soon begin to degenerate because of low soil phosphorous and available nitrogen. It is strongly recommended that specifications be amended to include several-step seeding-fertilizer procedures to assure better stands and sod establishment and lower maintenance costs. Several-step seeding procedures, based on grass-legume sod establishment along highways and observations of present practices are recommended. Slowly available sources of nitrogen such as ureaformaldehyde should be included in initial seedings to provide available nitrogen to prolong plant growth, especially in one-step seedings. Research findings for obtaining effective grass stands along highways are summarised. (Author/publisher)
Abstract