Ozzy Scott
Well-Known Member
and what machine were you using,
as to why teagasc would have an agenda, I dont know but could think of a few reasons
The reseeding thread
- Thread starter TMKF
- Start date
and what machine were you using,
as to why teagasc would have an agenda, I dont know but could think of a few reasons
Marooned75
Well-Known Member
Thought einbock grass harrow was the best plot for grass today least weeds and best tillering in 6 weeks and the worst for grass growth and most weeds was the aitchison and guttler system in my humble opinion at kilbeggan today.Anyone at it today agree or disagree with me.
Merv_B
Well-Known Member
Was the field mown before reseeding?
Seedsower
Well-Known Member
Most people seemed to say the crop of weeds was equally good across all plots and I would agree.Had this been a farm situation the field would have been sprayed for weeds before now.
The most surprising thing I thought was that none of the ploughed bits were in any way better than min til as regards ryegrass content(if even as good) and had just as much weeds.The field was exceptionally bad for weeds anyway.
Self praise is bull so I wont say which was best in my opinion but what I heard from teagasc personnel and those farmers who expressed an opinion would differ from the above.
To be fair there wasn't a huge difference in most of the plots and the winner will be different in different peoples perception,personal preference will decide and different situations may favour a particular system for particular fields.
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Marooned75
Well-Known Member
Yes mowed always made hay on it as we were told before reseeded
ithastopay
Well-Known Member
It was a better event than i had expected, it was a great idea but not the best site id rather see a larger area, a few long runs of each system would be better imo, that said they did well, not often i would praise teagasc but fair play to them on a job well done, the highlight for me was the bbq burger with fried onions, i missed the icecream van he was leaving when i got there. From what i seen and from speaking to other farmers, the plough system where its needed is still the top job, next would be a few runs of a disc, maybe a subsoiler if its needed and sowed with a ph with a grassbox. the direct drill has its place too, the rest are comparable with shaking the grass by hand and doing a novena or praying to whatever god you choose to believe in for warm weather and showers. Id like to see teagasc do a follow up in a year or two, i think there would be a much lower percentage of new grass growing in the plots where there was less soil disturbance, in one plot today it was clear to see old grass growing. For me saving €50 or €60/ac on the method of establishment is penny wise and pound foolish. I should add we do some preparation work for sowing grass, either disc or plough and cultivate before sowing but we dont sow grass.
Seedsower
Well-Known Member
Yep mowed tight.Sprayed too soon after silage cutting the lads were saying,there wasn't enough green material and that's partly why all plots are weedy
Marooned75
Well-Known Member
Correct on that.Still maintain what I said earlier.
mixed fleet
Well-Known Member
I was at the demo ,I thought it was good .There was quite a bit of information.
considering there were so many seeding methods on display ,i didn't notice much difference in the results.
The new grass on the ploughed plots was a better colour than the grass on the mini-tilled plots.
considering there were so many seeding methods on display ,i didn't notice much difference in the results.
The new grass on the ploughed plots was a better colour than the grass on the mini-tilled plots.
Seedsower
Well-Known Member
That could be more to do with the fact that green grass stands out darker against a brown background where the min til plots have a dirty yellow background.The proof of the pudding would be a dm yield comparison in a few weeks.spray the weeds now,mow all in 10 days then cut and weigh a few weeks later.
I cant agree with you on the rollers , the ring roller did not firm the seed in enough in the dry conditions we had when sowing in june , I sowed for a farmer on the same day as i sowed in Kilbeggan , we flat rolled it with a roller half full of water , I got a much better germination rate than the plot in kilbeggan , teagasc watered the plots during the real hot weather 3 weeks ago . Flat rollers should not be used in wet or damp soil but in this case it should have been flat rolled , I have to hand it to teagasc , they put on a good show with a lot more information than I thought they would , they had a lot of people on the ground bringing the groups around and it turned out to be a great day , it would be great if they could keep the this field in plots for future events , I think it would be of great benefit if to track these plots over the next five years and see how long each plots lasts and yields. Well done to teagasc.
BANKVILLE
Well-Known Member
any pics yet lads?
any idea how deep the ploughed plots were ploughed??
was talking to a man today that is in the process of an ad plant he buys grass seed in tote bags has.another 100 acres to do this autumn and he said theres nothing to beat ploughing for reseeding but they are going to try 15acres with a guttler Im not saying he's right just with the acres and cost involved id imagine he knows what he's at
any idea how deep the ploughed plots were ploughed??
was talking to a man today that is in the process of an ad plant he buys grass seed in tote bags has.another 100 acres to do this autumn and he said theres nothing to beat ploughing for reseeding but they are going to try 15acres with a guttler Im not saying he's right just with the acres and cost involved id imagine he knows what he's at
jd-baz
Well-Known Member
very simple , unploughed ground is firmer than ploughed ground and can be grazed quicker as stock will do less damage , if you go to kilbeggan you will see that the grass on the nonploughed ground is stronger than on the ploughed ground , all sowed with the same sower on the same day .
from what i hear the power harrowed plot was no better than the ploughed plot, i wonder how the ploughed plot would be if it got all the passes of the leveler and the roller?
still havent answered /proved this yet?
of course the plot nobody could see was better......
presume it was better than all five plots,id say the farmer was thinking of cutting it for silage....
any way hear it was a very good event,had planned to go over,but had a man coming to look at a machine,and ended up doing a repair for another man,so couldnt get away.
heard that the field was sprayer after mowing rather than before,and thats why it was a bit weedey as i can understand,
C
Cork
Guest
I wonder if the better colour and growth in the ploughed plot was noticeable due to the pH lowering effect of the decomposing sod in the non ploughed plots.
Or had the land been limed?
Rotting plant material produces acid which needs to be limed to prevent harm to the new sward.
Sounds like an interesting display.
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Ozzy Scott
Well-Known Member
I would be thinking the same, no lime applied and or no K applied.
There was lime applied , the ploughed plots were a darker green , and this is something that I learned a bit about yesterday , the field where the demo was has very poor fertility as it was an organic field , but what i learned yeaterday is that when you disturb soil by either subsoiling or ploughing it causes an N release in the soil, this change of colour only appeared this week after the rain , last saturday they were all the same colour.
C
Cork
Guest
Very true James! Thanks for the clarification
Seedsower
Well-Known Member
Has anyone seen anything like permanent grassland soil sampled before and after ploughing?
Be interesting to see the difference.
An old timer told me he saw an ag instructor years ago prove with litmus paper that ph was higher on the freshly ploughed sod because the rain washes lime down through the soil profile.This surprised me.
P&k would be different I imagine.
No other views on the plots anyone?
Be interesting to see the difference.
An old timer told me he saw an ag instructor years ago prove with litmus paper that ph was higher on the freshly ploughed sod because the rain washes lime down through the soil profile.This surprised me.
P&k would be different I imagine.
No other views on the plots anyone?
For direct sowing without ploughing , the decaying grass gives off organic acid that will kill the seedlings coming up , so the ph of the soil has nothing to do with this , my advice for min till sowing is that if it needs 2t of lime / ac then it gets 2t / ac , if it needs no lime then it has to get 1t/ ac to solve the organic problem . 2 bags of granulated / lime will do the same thing.
As a teagasc man what are your opinions after the event.
Seedsower
Well-Known Member
As a" teagasc man" it wouldn't be fair for me too too picky.
On the day a lot of the advisers were happy with the guttler system both from the plots and from previous on farm experience.It seems popular in parts of the country.
The general consensus was that the poorest establishment seemed to be on the direct powerharrow into ley but still it should thicken up eventually.
The grass seed was a mix from grennans of the general purpose type.
As said earlier the surprising thing was that none of the ploughed bits had a clear advantage over the mintilled plots.
The aitchinson established well but with the spaces between Its hard to see the plants/sq.m being on a par.
Im not sure it always thickens fully either.
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I was talking to 2 farmers today who were at the demo , they had an interesting observation , one was has clover gone out of fashion as a few years ago teagasc were pushing clover and this week they have changed their tune on clover , the other thing was there was no advice on subsoiling compacted ground before reseeding , as a lot of ground that needs to be reseeded was damaged over the last few wet years and to reseed it without subsoiling it is a waste of time , but the advisers at the demo never mentioned it , there was also no mention of the cost of leveling ploughed ground , the country if full of landlevelers and they were not included in the costs anywhere , so the advice on the day was to sow grass seed as cheap as possible and dont bother to level the field as it adds an extra cost to reseeding . So these 2 farmers who do a lot of reseeding were wondering if they sow on ploughed ground after 1 run of a onepass and leave ridges in the field and then break the bed off a mower will teagasc pay for a new mower as they had followed teagasc guidelines , why was the cost of levelling not included in any of the guide prices handed out ?
BANKVILLE
Well-Known Member
because teagasc don't advise you to use movers with soft beds or tractors with no suspension! was it not them that advised farmers not to pay contractors if money was tight