Winter disking is a land management tool used to disturb the soil, set back plant succession, and maintain a desired mix of forbs (weedy plants) that benefit wildlife.
Research at Tall Timbers has shown that disking between October and January produced higher percent cover of important bobwhite foods such as ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) and partridge pea (Cassia fasciculata), as well as a higher percent and higher diversity of insects that both bobwhite and wild turkey eat such as grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, and spiders.
Not only do disked fields provide good food for gamebirds, the bare ground allows for easy movement by the young birds and the overhead plant structure allows for protection from predators and the sun. These forb-dominated fields provide diversity to a property and can also provide habitat for cottontail rabbits, deer, and songbirds.
Depending on the management objectives, soil type, and vegetation type, fields can be entirely disked or partially disked (strip disking). By disking the entire field annually, the manager is maximizing brood habitat. By disking 1/3 – 1/2 of each field every year, a manager can increase brood habitat, while maintaining year around cover.
Winter disking also has some positive attributes compared to planting food plots. First of all, there is the economic aspect; winter disking, has minimal cost (fuel and tractor maintenance).
Sometimes, the desired seed bank does not exist, (such as recently abandoned agricultural fields). In this situation, a winter disked field typically can be started from one year of planting the desired old field plant species (e.g. ragweed and partridge pea) versus planting annual food plots such as sorghum, millets, or sunflower, which require an additional annual cost of seed and fertilizer.
Secondly, the old field vegetation is fairly drought tolerant, so in those years that the food plots don’t produce well due to lack of rainfall, old field vegetation will still grow and provide some wildlife benefits.
When reclaiming a fallow pasture field, exotic grass control is a necessary first step; fescue, Bermuda, and Bahia grasses are often present and are an impediment to wildlife and old field vegetation.
Learn more about controlling exotic grasses in uplands
They must be controlled for successful field management to occur. Do not rush this step or you will fight those perennial grasses for years to come. A 3% rate of glyphosate is generally effective although multiple applications over 1-2 seasons are likely needed.
Partridge pea responds well to a winter disking
Soil type and past land history are partially related to the amount of use of these fields. In loamy or clay soils, such as much of the Red Hills region of North Florida and South Georgia, frequently burned upland pine forests with adequate sunlight for groundcover often produce adequate brood habitat the year they are burned . Young quail will use them more in some places than others.
Conversely, on sandy, dry soils, such as in the greater Albany area of Georgia, and portions of the Red Hills area where groundcover in the uplands can be sparse, winter disked fields are often strongly selected by broods due to a lack of good brood habitat in the burned woods.
Similarly, in wiregrass dominated sites, (typically sandy soil and low fertility) cover will provide excellent nesting and year around high-quality habitat, while existing winter disked fields can provide high quality brood habitat.
Disking of intact native groundcover is not recommended; these areas have not been disked before, and do not have the appropriate seed bank to respond positively to winter disking. Further, once this vegetation is disked, it will never be the same again as the wiregrass and other desirable vegetation disappear.
Forbs such as partridge pea, ragweed, blue curl, and blackberry (to name a few) can be an important food resource for many birds and mammals.
Timing of winter disking will determine what plants will be prevalent but it can vary from place to place and year to year. Experiment on your property to see what works best. Also, other wildlife objectives may make certain timing more beneficial.
Research has shown that size and shape of fields is also an important consideration. Fields about 2-4 acres in size work great as long as they are not too wide. Bobwhite broods typically only go 30-40 yards into a field. So, fields that are more than about 80 yards across are not necessary. While smaller fields will be used by broods, it is hard to get the property’s field percentage high if your fields are very small. On high quality soils (loamy or clay), one field per 20 acres (10-20%) is a good rule of thumb. However, on some low quality, sandy soils, up to 30% of the landscape kept in fields may be beneficial.
Field management is just one component of wildlife management. Managing the forest with frequent fire and thinning to get adequate sunlight to the ground are the most important factors in creating and maintaining high quality, early succession habitat.
