Older Lays and Pests

Rough permanent grass or old worn out pastures need to be approached with care. Although the chemical 'Roundup' deactivates in contact with soil, the chemical can still be active within the thick mat of roots found in old permanent pasture. This can kill the emerging seedlings.

Latest feedback from users on the the issue of reseed failure post glyphosate, suggests that glyphosate should be apllied the day before or the day after drilling. Customers report that the normal 2-3 week period between spraying and drilling means that the soil surface is at its driest, and toxic activity (due to the chemical breakdown of residue) is at its highest at seed germination time, bearing in mind that the grass seed takes 7-10 days to germinate. Users are convinced that a very short period between spraying and drilling allows seeds to germinate and root in moist soil, getting established before the toxic decaying process begins.

In some cases dessicate with Roundup in autumn and leave to decay over winter and drill in spring, or break the mat by a shallow rotary cultivation before direct drilling. In all the above cases, we recommend drilling 10-15kg/acre of a specialist mixture, blended using vigorous, quick establishing and competitive grass-seed.

Slurry

Slurry containing silage effluent (typically summer slurry) should never be applied, as effluent contains high ammonia levels, which affect seed germination.

Pests

Old grass can harbour slugs all year round, so it may be advisable especially in heavier soils to sow slug pellets along with seed or broadcast the pellets at a higher rate where an attack has been observed after drilling.

Leather Jackets (Daddy Long Leg Larvae).

This can be a problem especially in a spring drilling situation. If a field is thought to be at risk, spraying with Spannit or Dursban 4 during late autumn or winter has given the best control.

Frit Fly

Reseeds sown after early August can be at risk from Frit fly. This pest is usually very localised, fields with a past history of attacks and high-risk Frit Fly years, should be acknowledged. Spraying with Dursban 4 or Spannit either at sward dessication or early post drilling gives good control.

Direct drilled stubble turnips

Direct drilled forage kale