EFFECTS OF SEASONAL DISKING ON SEED PRODUCTION AND INVERTEBRATE BIOMASS

Increasing food sources for wildlife can involve planting cultivars to establish food plots. This approach is time consuming and expensive. We initiated a study to determine if disking could be used to increase seed production and invertebrate biomass for wildlife. Plots in brome (Bromus inermis), wheat (Triticum aestivum), and mile (Sorghum bicolo r) fields were disked during different months on five sites in eastern Kansas. Seed production on mile fields disked in November was higher than that of other mile plots. Disking in brome or wheat fields did no t affect seed production. Disked mile and wheat fields generally produ ced more invertebrate biomass after two years of disking, but biomasse s were not strongly related to month of disking. Undisked brome held p lots had a greater biomass of invertebrates than disked plots. Disking may be a useful habitat management technique, but its effects probabl y are site-specific, and local field trails are recommended to determi ne the timing for optimal results.