Ground conditions are excellent countrywide so keep grazing fields or paddocks tightly to ensure good quality grass.
Ideal grass height should just be above your ankle (9-10cms) before grazing and grazed very tight to 4-5cm in height.
- Nitrogen
Apply one bag of CAN/acre to paddocks or fields that have been grazed except on farms with surplus grass.
Wait until there is rain forecast before spreading to ensure the Nitrogen is utilised by grass. Nitrogen-based fertiliser with Sulphur should be considered on dry sandy or light soils.
- Topping
Grassland that was strong before grazing and is not grazed out properly should be topped. Topping should be done with a disc mower and cut as low to the ground as possible.
Do not top pastures in extremely dry weather. Topping will also help control thistles, nettles and rushes.
- Feed Budget
If you have any concerns over light yields from your first cut then complete a feed budget. This will ensure that you have enough silage for the winter.
Close up silage ground as soon as possible for second cut silage. Apply slurry and 70 units/acre of Nitrogen spread seven to 10 days after slurry.
- Reseeding
Reseeding grassland will put money in your pocket, no matter what livestock system you are involved in.
Reseeded ground will yield more grass, approximately 1t/ha, worth €160/ha. Plan any intended reseeding of old unproductive swards now.
Ensure fields are completely eaten out before tilling. Take a soil sample and have it analysed.
By Anthony O’Connor, Teagasc Adviser, Galway/Clare Regional Unit.
(Source – Agriland – Anthony O Connor – 30/06/2015)
Is topping the answer to your thistle problems?
Many farmers regard the thistle as the bane of there lives when it comes to managing their grassland.
Creeping Thistle is a perennial plant and grows mainly from an underground stem or rhizome and this makes total control difficult with one spray.
According to Teagasc’s Tim O’ Donovan in it’s latest guide to controling grassland weeds yield losses of up to 15% have been recorded due to thistles but he says they cause most damage by preventing animals grazing around them.
O’Donovan says frequent topping can reduce the root reserves but will seldom eradicate the problem as root fragments can lay viable and dormant for years.
He says this weed is best sprayed with Thisltlex, Forefront, MCPA or 2, 4-D in June before flowering and may need a second treatment later in the season to control any late shooting thistles.
In a reseed, both root fragments and seed can cause an explosion of creeping thistles, O’Donovan warns.
Spear Thistle
According to O’Donovan Spear Thistle only spreads by seed.
Each plant lives for 2 years (like ragwort) producing a flatted rosette of leaves in year one and then the familiar ‘tree-like’ structure in year two.
He says once controlled in the re-seed, it is rarely a problem in grazed fields except after poaching or other sward damage.
O’Donovan says topping is not effective to control the growth in year one but can be carried out on the second year growth before seed is set.
Chemical control options are the same as for Creeping Thistle, he says.
(Source – Agriland – Ciaran Moran – 30/06/2015)
How to get a handle on the scourge of docks
Best control of docks will be achieved in good growing conditions when docks are actively growing and nutrients are actively being transported to new foliage and roots, according to Teagasc’s Tim O’Donovan.
In a recent guide on controlling the weed he said if seed stalks are seen on the plant or if the dock has diseased leaves or is under pest attack it is better to cut/top or graze and allow re-growth of the docks before applying chemical.
Do not apply chemicals in a period of drought as the chemical will not be taken up by the plant leaves in sufficient quantities, he says.
O’Donovan advises farmers to use the highest water rates on the manufacturer’s label for best effects and to allow adequate time between spraying and cutting silage for the herbicide to work.
Season long dock control
- Use of herbicides based on aminopyralid, dicamba, triclopyr, fluroxypyr, etc., will give season long control plus a wide range of common grassland weeds.
- Where clover is of consequence Eagle or Prospect may be applied. These products do not harm clover but Prospect may have some effect on the constituent grasses in the sward. These are best applied in good growth conditions and will give season long control. Eagle has label clearance for dock control on grassland, at the 40 60 g/ha rate, 60 g/ha being the full recommended rate for docks. The higher rate should be used where the infestation is high or the docks have a well-established tap root.
Teagasc
According to O’Donovan recent Teagasc trials have shown that longer term (up to four years) control of docks can be achieved by applying a suitable herbicide (e.g. Starane2 @1.5 l/ha) onto small docks shortly after re-seeding.
He says applying the herbicide at this stage of the docks development, facilitates almost complete elimination of the docks.
The trials have also shown that docks that emerge in the following years rarely establish due to competition from the grass, he says.
Teagasc Tips for Reseeding – M. Donoghue