Broadcast Chufa planting method: Chufas can be broadcast at a rate of about 40 pounds per acre on the prepared seedbed. Next the plot should be disked into a depth of about 1 to 2 inches. Top-dress the chufas with ammonium nitrate at 100 to 200 pounds per acre when the plants are about 6 to 12 inches in height. Broadcast planting will work for both turkeys and ducks where suitable habitat exist.

Row Chufa planting method: Row plant chufas on a prepared seedbed as described above using a peanut plate. From experience, I will tell you that corn plates will not work. Here’s how to plant these food plots: Plant in 30 to 38 inch rows with a spacing of about 5 inches in the row and 1 to 2 inches deep. Side dress with 100 to 200 pounds per acre of ammonium nitrate when the plants are 6 to 12 inches in height. Row planting produces a heavier yield than broadcast planting and is better suited to more upland plots.

Chufas make great food plots for turkey and waterfowl, but they must first be established. When grown for turkeys, chufas are often regenerated for years without replanting. When grown for waterfowl, however, they must be replanted each year because whatever the waterfowl do not eat, will most likely rot. Consider make chufas a component of your wildlife and habitat management program on your property. The animals will love it!

Native grasses are at the heart of quail and turkey management. Native grasses for better habitat can be promoted in several ways. More often than not, there is a seed bank within the soil that still contains viable seeds. Some light to moderate disking may encourage these native grass seeds to germinate. Of course, natural grass cover still will not happen over night. Immediately after disking, many low successional forbs (wild flowers and other) will flourish, then it will seem only noxious weeds, and then maybe two, three, or fours years later the manager will start to notice some new grass coming in. A big part of plant response depends on weather conditions.

Landowners interested in improving habitat for quail and turkey can can also disk and over-seed native grass seeds. Even better, landowners can drill seeds directly into the soil. Native grass seed is expensive, so managers implementing this activity should plant grasses in strips. Disk a strip, seed it as recommended, then skip several tractor-widths and repeat. This can be done as little or as much as desired or depending on the landowner’s financial resources. Prescribed burning is also an effective way to set-back habitat and encourage the germination and growth of native grasses.

Simple ground disturbance can help promote native grasses for quail and turkey, but additional planting of seeds will kick start the habitat management program. Quail require bunch-grasses and lots of them. These are the native grasses landowners must provide if they desire quail habitat. Bunch-grasses such as little bluestem, big bluestem, Indiangrass, switchgrass and even sideoats grama. Of course, quail also need seed-producing forbs as well as a woody component consisting of low growing brush.

Turkey are are large-ranging species that often inhabit areas of 2,000 to 10,000 acres in size. Because they have such large home ranges, the best many habitat managers can only provide a small portion of the habitat that they need. Native grasses can accomplish part of this goal, but they also need roosting areas and nesting sites. The availability of water and suitable roost trees are critical for turkey of every species.

In closing, habitat management for both quail and turkey is possible on any size property. However, understand that these animals will sometimes have large ranges, especially turkey. Both bird species require grass cover and woody cover, but in different forms. Quail prefer low-growing shrubs for hiding and loafing, while turkey prefer large trees for roosting. Persons interested in quail management and turkey management should plants pastures and open areas to native grasses for best results.

Ok, so you bagged a turkey! Congratulations! Often times, turkey hunters often wonder how their trophy stacks up against other turkeys. The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) has an official wild turkey records program.

According to the NWTF, the purpose of the program is to provide hunters throughout the world with a permanent record keeping system that will preserve information on all legally harvested wild turkey taken in the spirit of fair chase.

The records are maintained for Eastern, Florida, Rio Grande, and Merriam’s subspecies. The Eastern subspecies is found in Tennessee. Weight, beard length, and spur length are considered to determine a total score for wild turkeys.

How to Score Your Turkey:

The formula for overall score is: weight (lbs. and oz.) plus 10 times spur length (right plus left) plus 2 times the beard length. The beard must be measured, to the nearest 1/16 inch, from the center point of the protrusion from the skin to the end of the longest bristle. Spurs must be measured, to the nearest 1/16 inch, along the outside center, from the point at which the spur protrudes from the scaled leg skin to the tip of the spur. Ounces and fractions of inches need to be converted to decimals.

Persons submitting records must be current members of the NWTF. Hunters may join when the record is submitted.

For rules or an official application form, contact: National Wild Turkey Federation, P.O. Box 530, Edgefield, SC 29824, or check out the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Turkey hunters should get plenty of calling action this spring, based on field reports of an abundance of Rio Grande gobblers observed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists. “I have been getting reports from many of our field biologist and they all agree that this is going to be a good season in Rio Grande turkey country due to the 2007 spring and summer rains and mild temperatures,” said Jason Hardin, TPWD turkey program coordinator.

“Some of the guys mentioned last year seeing new poults as late as August. That probably means these birds had ample opportunity to re-nest two to three times over the summer. So, there should be lots of jakes seen, making it a fun year to call in lots of birds. There will be plenty of mature gobblers, as well, so hunters should not hesitate to get in the field.”

Rio Grande spring turkey hunting season opens in the North Zone March 29 and runs through May 11. Special youth-only weekends are set for March 22-23 and May 17-28. The South Zone opens March 15 and runs through April 27, with youth-only weekends set for March 8-9 and May 3-4.

The spring eastern turkey season is open in 43 East Texas counties from April 1-30. TPWD harvest surveys estimate nearly 88,000 hunters take part in Texas’ spring turkey season and take about 23,000 gobblers. Most of the state’s spring turkey hunting activity occurs in South Texas and in the Hill Country, where Hardin noted timely rainfall could give the bird population a boost. Landowners with a turkey management program focused on habitat enhancment could see great gains if mother nature helps out.

“It wouldn’t hurt to get a little rainfall to green it up,” he said. “We still have some herbaceous plants on the ground, but it has been extremely dry in South Texas. The birds are still going to be active, but some rain would kick things off faster.”

On the other hand, Hardin noted, there was too much rain in East Texas and many of the Eastern turkey poults did not survive. “Too much exposure in the first few weeks will lead to low survival,” he explained. “However, the population as a whole is stable and will probably provide an average hunting season.”

Statewide regulations allow the use of shotgun, rifle, handgun, legal archery equipment or crossbow to take Rio Grande turkey depending on regional turkey management goals. However, individual landowners and public hunting areas may further restrict the devices to be used. The bag limit for Rio Grande turkey is four turkeys per license year. Regulations and bag limits vary by county, so check the county specific rules where you are hunting. Only gobblers are allowed to be harvested during the spring hunting season. Consult the 2007-08 Outdoor Annual for season dates and bag limits in your area.

Eastern turkey hunting is limited to shotgun, lawful archery equipment or crossbow, with a one-gobbler bag limit. All harvested eastern turkeys must be taken to a check station within 24 hours. To find the check station nearest you, contact a TPWD field office or call (800) 792-1112.

“Hunters are probably not going to see a lot of young gobblers because we likely lost production due to rains throughout the nesting season last year,” added Gary Calkins, TPWD district wildlife biologist in Jasper. “Where we have birds, we have birds.”