HYDRO-SEEDING AND MULCHING MACHINERY

Straw or hay mulching (high-profile mulch) has proved to be the most successful technique in the arid climates of the west. The process involves the planting of seed and fertilizer in the soil with one piece of machinery, then mulching with a layer of hay or straw with another piece of machinery, and then tacking the mulch to the ground with sometimes a third piece of machinery. Hydro-mulching, sometimes referred to as low-profile mulch, is a recent technological development in which the seed, fertilizer, and mulch are applied in a one-step process. Hydro-mulching has experienced significant success in the more humid eastern United States. The differences in the effects of the two mulches are simply that the higher-profile straw mulch is a more effective insulator and it helps retain moisture better. R.E. Blaser found that straw mulch tacked with wood fiber could possibly be the best treatment for a late fall planting, thus expecting the emergence of seedlings the following spring. If this procedure is adopted, it may well be that a new piece of equipment will evolve that combines the use of straw-mulching with hydro-mulching. Other research has been done on the use of poly foams to simulate the high-profile effect of straw with possible use of the hydro-mulch machine. A significant advance is predicted in the near future to develop a machine that will pump a thicker slurry of wood fiber in the conventional hydro-mulching process. If the ratio of water to wood fiber can be reduced in the process, then the economics of hydro-mulching, will be improved for a significant labor savings. (Author)