Hoosier,
I'm in the mid-Atlantic where snow is not an issue. Therefore I might be disqualified from commenting about your concerns although I have planted Egyptian Wheat on a couple of occasions - where I think I probably got my rates too wrong. So, it got me to thinking...always a dangerous event.
I like math and numbers. I tend to think about plants per acre rather than pounds. But, I didn't when I seed my EW. My soil fertility is OK, and I did put a little urea on it after it got about 10-inches tall. It worked, but it was a little (!) thick.
Let's talk about this. Think of a corn field with 30-inch rows. Typical. Think about what it looks like at maturity. On average, you're probably looking at 24-25,000 plants an acre.
I only found once source telling how many Egyptian Wheat seeds per pound. We're going to need that to get back to plants per acre. The answer is 16,000. In my head I have a picture of one EW plant in every 6-inch square. Maybe that's too tight, but let's go with it. In round numbers there are 175,000 six inches squares in an acre. I think I want that many plants, too! Let's divide the 175,000 squares by 16,000 to get the rate in pounds per acre. Again, to just deal in round numbers, it's about 11 lbs. Now, that assumes 100% germination!
I don't know what the typical germ rate is, but I'd guess it's 90% or less. Add a pound and we're at 12 lbs / acres, drilled.
For broadcasting we might add another couple pounds to account for the seed that ends up too shallow or too deep or that gets eaten.
Where are we? Depends on how many plants per acre you think are sufficient for your objective, the germination rate of the seed, and your planting technique. Seems like 13 or 14 lbs per acres would be adequate.
Oops! Isn't that the "recommended rate" - lbs/acre?
