Should You Plant Chufa this Season?
EDGEFIELD, S.C. — Chufa is one of the most popular crops planted for wild turkeys in the Southeast. It grows up to three feet tall and produces up to 150 fingernail-sized tubers just below the soil’s surface that turkeys scratch out of the ground throughout the fall, winter and spring.
As the spring approaches, now is the time for landowners in the Southeast to start planning to plant chufa. In the South, the general timeframe to plant is from April through July. There are several things to keep in mind when planting chufa, but it is rewarding for habitat and wildlife.
“Chufa is attractive for turkeys throughout the fall, winter and spring after the tubers are developed below the surface,” said Doug Little, NWTF director of conservation operations for the East. “While there are the obvious benefits of keeping turkeys consistently using your property, the tubers are protein rich, which is important for hens throughout the winter and into the spring nesting season.”
Interested NWTF members and landowners can purchase chufa seed through the NWTF. Some NWTF state chapters are enrolled in the Seed Subsidy program that specifically offers a discount on chufa. The Seed Subsidy program allows NWTF members to purchase seed at a reduced cost for habitat plantings. The cost of the seed is shared by the NWTF state chapters that are enrolled in the program. State chapters offering NWTF members a discount on chufa include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
Anna Hargis, NWTF seed program assistant, wants to continue to spread the word about the seed programs and its many benefits.
“I hear about the positive experience that members have had with our seed programs and how greatly it's impacted the populations of turkey on their property, especially by planting chufa,” she said.
Chufa is highly nutritious and remains one of the most preferred food plots by wild turkeys.
So for landowners who want to attract more birds, planting chufa is a great next step.
About the National Wild Turkey Federation
Since 1973, the National Wild Turkey Federation has invested over half a billion dollars into wildlife conservation and has positively impacted over 25 million acres of critical wildlife habitat. Since 2022, the NWTF has also invested over $2.3 million in critical wild turkey research that, when leveraged with partner contributions, has resulted in more than $22 million to guide the management of the wild turkey and to ensure sustainable populations. The organization continues to deliver its mission by working across boundaries on a landscape scale to deliver healthy forests and wildlife habitats, clean and abundant water, resilient communities and robust recreational opportunities. With the help of its dedicated members, partners and staff, the NWTF is committed to creating a nation united by the life-changing power of the outdoors.