1. Grassland – Part 3

2. Direct Sowing  Best and most reliable way to obtain a ley.  The seedbed is prepared by ploughing and harrowing.  It should be very fine, finer than that for cereals.  Fertiliser should be broadcast and worked in during the final seedbed preparation.  The seed is sown using a combine drill, in lines 10cm apart and 2cm deep.

4.  They may also be broadcast over the soil and covered over using a chain harrow.  The land should be rolled after sowing to improve seed – soil contact and better germination rates.  Spring sown leys should be sown before May 1st due to the risk of drought.  Autumn sown leys should not be sown after Mid – September.

5. Undersowing  Undersowing is used by farmers who employ tillage / grass rotations.  The grass seeds are grown with the tillage crop, usually a spring cereal.  Over the summer the two crops grow together and after harvesting, the grass takes over.  The land should be autumn ploughed and the seedbed prepared in the usual manner.  The grass is sown directly after the cereal (using a drill) and then the land is rolled.

7.  Spring Barley is the most suitable “nurse crop” as the competition between the two crops is less due to short straw and early harvesting.  Lodging is a problem with this method, so N application should be lessened by 30%.  Tillage yields are reduced using this method also.  Undersowing grass with arable silage (oats / vetch) is good farming practice.  The silage is cut early and the grass has a good chance of establishing itself.

8. Direct Drilling  This technique involves drilling seeds into unploughed ground.  The drilling machine cultivates a small strip of soil and sows the seed in it.  No problems occur if direct drilled into stubble.  But if direct drilling into grassland, problems and/or competition can occur.

11.  The grassland should be grazed bare or mown and killed with a herbicide before direct drilling.  Slug pellets and fertiliser are added with the seed in order to help its establishment.  Direct drilling is most successful on shallow soils where ploughing is difficult.

12. Stitching In  This system is almost the same as direct drilling, except the old sward is not killed.  The seed is drilled using a similar drill, along with slug pellets and fertiliser.  If the seeds establish themselves then they become the dominant species in the sward.  This system is not as predicable as direct drilling and the old sward can often win out.