Quail also use disked areas to take dust baths and to pick up grit. The series of plants that volunteer following disking depend largely on site conditions and residual seed stores. Generally, light disking during fall and early winter favors the growth of most legumes. Spring disking stimulates grasses during the first growing season following soil disturbance. In Alabama, super phosphate and basic slag have been used successfully to increase legume coverage and seed production.
Complete fertilizers tend to stimulate grass and weed growth, often to the exclusion of legumes.
However, these fertilizers may be beneficial in establishing protective cover for quail. Although quail are commonly associated with interspersed mixtures of idle and cultivated fields, brushy drains, and woodlands, extensive forested areas may provide good habitat if managed properly. Most quail food plants require sunlight penetrating the forest canopy and reaching the forest floor. Consequently, woodlands must be thinned heavily. Maximizing both timber production and quail abundance is impossible.