Cool-season perennial grass productivity falls sharply during hot, dry summer weather. This summer slump has been observed at many locations in the USA, especially in the Southeast. Perennial, tall-growing, warm-season forage grasses produce abundant herbage during the summer and could make a contribution to Southeastern forage systems. However, the relatively long period commonly required to produce grazable stands of warm-season grasses is problematic. Before these warm-season species can be incorporated into a summer forage system, problems with establishment must be investigated. Field research was undertaken to evaluate the influence of limestone, P, and carbofuran (2,3-dihydro-2,2,-dimethyl-7benzofuranyl methylcarbamate) in the establishment of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) using no-till procedures. Plantings were made both in 1985 and 1986 into a killed sod in Blacksburg, VA, located at 37° 11′ N° 80° 25′ W at 2000-ft elevation. The soil was a Groseclose loam (clayey, mixed, mesic Typic Fragiudult) with a fragipan at 17 in. Treatments included granular carbofuran at 0 and 1 lb/acre placed in the row with the seed, limestone at 0 and 2 ton/acre, and P at 0 and 44 lb/acre in all possible combinations. Limestone and P were broadcast 26 wk prior to planting. Seedling growth rate and leaf appearance rate were recorded through the sixth-leaf stage of development. Seedling weights, populations, and heights were determined at the sixth-leaf stage of development. Leaf elongation rates were measured for leaves 7, 8, and 9. Yields of forage and percentages of switchgrass in the harvested herbage were determined in the year of planting and the year after planting. The data indicate that carbofuran application increased nine of 12 measurements in the year of seeding. Yields the year after planting were significantly higher in the carbofuran plots than the control plots in both years. Phosphorus application increased yields in the 1986 harvest of the 1985 planting but no effect was observed in the 1987 harvest of the 1986 planting. Limestone had no effect the year after seeding in either experiment. Carbofuran applied at planting in the row with the seed and P applied prior to no-till planting in areas with low P soil test levels are considered good recommendations for establishment of switchgrass.