Dove hunting season is knocking at the door and wildlife manager are busy making final preparations in their fields. For some people dove hunting is purely a social endeavor with a side of wing shooting. For others it is a race to bag a limit with the reward of poppers on the grill. For a wildlife manager dove season is an opportunity to show case a property and tune up a rusty retriever. Dove fields across the mid-south are later than usual in 2019. Some are so late that sunflowers have been abandoned for other sources of seed. A cool and wet spring hindered many mangers from getting sunflowers established within the typical time frame ( mid April- late May). If sunflowers are late to mature then what are some other options that can provide endless shooting opportunities come September?
I encourage landowners to still plant sunflowers into June. Doves will key in on actively growing sunflowers and set up shop awaiting maturation. Early maturing corn varieties are also great options and produce tons of seed in small acreages. Corn also provides cover for hunters in the field. I recommend discing the edges of standing corn before bush hogging. Burning can also be implemented to scatter seed and clean weedy fields.
If your field has been left fallow for most of the summer, no problem. Spraying, mowing, and discing can be your best option along with broadcasting wheat (follow USFWS recommendations). I typically discourage growing millets in fields that are to be planted in sunflowers in subsequent years. Where millets are grown for doves, burning is always my recommendation.
Something else to consider when planning a dove a field. After your annual shoots are over and the field is no longer being hunted, keep monitoring weed pressure in areas you expect to grow sunflowers the following year. Weed pressure in the spring can be reduced by repeated burndown herbicide applications in the fall. Spray herbicide after weed flushes but before weeds produce seed. This allows some organic matter to settle over the soil for erosion reduction. Another concept which is being used successfully is winter cover crops. I have seen this used with no-till sunflower and in fields where sunflowers are never grown. Planted wheat can offer excellent soil stability and weed reduction over winter, in the summer wheat can be burned to expose seed for doves. This provides an early food source for doves hanging around your field.
If your looking to up the ante on your dove field, contact us for a consultation.
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