Poster 1
Title: Multi-species grazing ley established by min-till or ploughing
Authors: H.G. Powell, R. Fychan and C.L. Marley
Organisation: IBERS
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Hi Huw,
Very interesting results!
Were the two treatments sown at same density?
Did the sward maintained equally after first grazing (uprooted plants or so)?
Also, I would be interested in indicators of time/cost for each method.
Thanks a lot!
Hi Guylain- thanks for your comments! Yes- the 2 treatments were sown at the same density (13.5kg/ac or 33.35kg/ha).
Once the swards were established and past their first grazing, quality from both treatments was excellent- a spot analysis mid August showed a DM of 14.2%; CP of 19.9%; D value of 70.8 and ME of 11.1. We didn’t find any plants that were uprooted.
Time and costs vary for both treatments- ploughing and power harrowing adds significant contractor costs and time to carry out those operations (c.£63/ha and £53/ha) and you have to factor in timeliness to take account of the weather; so a larger favourable weather window is required! The spraying operation is much cheaper (c. £20/ha). Then the one pass drill sows seed straight into the old sward (c£50/ha); the advantages are many.