Soil fertility is the biggest reason for reseeding failures. That was one of the key messages that farmers left with from the Teagasc/Aurivo farm walk in Roscommon last week.

Enda Faulkner from Aurivo Co-Op told farmers at the event that the number one improvement that could be made on farms in the west was soil fertility improvements.

“People think reseeding is the most important but really soil fertility should be first on the list,” Enda said. The Ph of the soil needs to be above 6.3 along with index 3 status for phosphorus and potassium. This adds cost to fertiliser application but nitrogen will be more efficient when soil indexes are at the correct level.

Varieties

Mary McEvoy from Germinal Seeds told farmers that the pasture profit index should be the first port of call when selecting seed varieties. The varieties on this list have been tested under Irish conditions for the last four years, so farmers can choose of this list with confidence that the varieties at the top will perform under Irish conditions.

Chris Maughan from TP Whelehan crop health gave a presentation on weed control in new and existing leys. Docks are the biggest problem weed to control and the biggest issue is spraying them at the right stage. Once grass is at the two- to three-leaf stage, spraying should take place if weeds are present.

Post-reseeding management

Seamus Nolan, Teagasc adviser in Roscommon, highlighted the importance of post-reseeding management in a successful reseeding programme.

“Some people think that the P and K stops at reseeding, but it doesn’t work like that. New grass varieties are bred to grow in high-fertility conditions so nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are all very important in the first few years.

"Grazing management is also equally as important in the first year. Grazing at low covers is key and avoiding a silage cut in the first year is a must. The first grazing should take place at a very low cover of about 700-1000kgs (7-8cm) and a grazing should take place every 17-21 days after this to promote good tillering and thickening of the sward."

Methods

On reseeding methods, Seamus said that once whatever method used was done correctly, there wasn’t a lot of difference between methods.

An Erth agriseeder was on display and the McHughs have achieved good results using this machine. Granlime goes out at 2 bags/acre (100kgs/acre). This is important to correct any acidity from surface trash dying off.

Seamus also explained that timing is important in terms of getting a good take.

“You need to have a paddock sprayed off with glyphosate for three to four weeks to get a good kill. The first week of September is the last week I would like to be going in so that means spraying this week at the latest,” Seamus said.