Broadcast seeding
Encyclopedia
In agriculture
, gardening
, and forestry
, broadcast seeding is a method of seeding that involves scattering seed
, by hand or mechanical
ly, over a relatively large area
. This is in contrast to:
Broadcast seeding is of particular use in establishing dense plant
spacing, as for cover crop
s and lawn
s. After broadcasting, seed is often lightly buried with some type of raking
action.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, gardening
Gardening
Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...
, and forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
, broadcast seeding is a method of seeding that involves scattering seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
, by hand or mechanical
Mechanization
Mechanization or mechanisation is providing human operators with machinery that assists them with the muscular requirements of work or displaces muscular work. In some fields, mechanization includes the use of hand tools...
ly, over a relatively large area
Area
Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
. This is in contrast to:
- precision seedingPrecision seedingIn agriculture, precision seeding is a method of seeding that involves placing seed at a precise spacing and depth. This is in contrast to broadcast seeding, where seed is scattered over an area....
, where seed is placed at a precise spacing and depth; and - hydroseedingHydroseedingHydroseeding is a planting process which utilizes a slurry of seed and mulch. The slurry is transported in a tank, either truck- or trailer-mounted and sprayed over prepared ground. Helicopters have been used to cover larger areas...
, where a slurry of seed, mulchMulchIn agriculture and gardening, is a protective cover placed over the soil to retain moisture, reduce erosion, provide nutrients, and suppress weed growth and seed germination. Mulching in gardens and landscaping mimics the leaf cover that is found on forest floors....
and water is sprayed over prepared ground in a uniform layer.
Broadcast seeding is of particular use in establishing dense plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
spacing, as for cover crop
Cover crop
Cover crops are crops planted primarily to manage soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife in agroecosystems , ecological systems managed and largely shaped by humans across a range of intensities to produce food, feed, or fiber.Cover crops are of...
s and lawn
Lawn
A lawn is an area of aesthetic and recreational land planted with grasses or other durable plants, which usually are maintained at a low and consistent height. Low ornamental meadows in natural landscaping styles are a contemporary option of a lawn...
s. After broadcasting, seed is often lightly buried with some type of raking
Rake (tool)
A rake is a broom for outside; an horticultural implement consisting of a toothed bar fixed transversely to a handle, and used to collect leaves, hay, grass, etc., and, in gardening, for loosening the soil, light weeding and levelling, removing dead grass from...
action.