overplant

English

Etymology

over- +‎ plant

Verb

overplant (third-person singular simple present overplants, present participle overplanting, simple past and past participle overplanted)

1. (intransitive) To plant too many plants (of any particular crop).

   With choice hybrid seeds being so expensive, it pays not to overplant if you can help it; pick your seed plates carefully.

2. (transitive) To plant too many of (some kind of plant), whether by sowing or by transplanting.

   Hyponym: oversow

   Growers in the region had overplanted their wheat in a desperate attempt to mitigate slim margins by "making it up on volume".

   He overplanted tobacco in his eagerness for a cash crop with higher margins.

3. (transitive) To plant (a place) with too many plants.

   The entire breadbasket region was overplanted with cultivars that were more disease-prone but had the dubious advantage of lower seed cost.

See also

• overseed