{"id":1333473,"date":"2024-06-21T06:10:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T05:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agriland.ie\/?p=1333473"},"modified":"2024-06-20T17:26:53","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T16:26:53","slug":"are-multi-specie-swards-an-option-on-your-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/farming-news\/are-multi-specie-swards-an-option-on-your-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"Are multi-species swards an option on your farm?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With the tightness of grass growth in recent weeks and the poor grazing conditions at the start of the spring leaving it difficult to achieve good residuals and avoid poaching, multi-species swards could be considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multi-species swards have a better tolerance to drought (due to an increased rooting depth), less weeds (after establishment) than grass swards and the flowering plants are excellent for pollinators and biodiversity<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This begs the question, considering the frequency of droughts in recent years and the unpredictability in grass growth during the summer months, can multi-species swards aid in times of poor grass growth and droughts?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drier summers and wetter winters may see the benefits of multispecies swards come into play as they have the potential to increase sward diversity that might have the potential to allow us to adapt to changing weather patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, with the recent introduction of the National Fertiliser Database<\/a>, the amount of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) you spread has been limited and can be monitored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multi-species will fixate N, meaning the amount of N application needed on these paddocks will be reduced giving a small bit of leeway to spread more on paddocks that may require it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multi-species swards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Multi-species swards are swards that have a variety of plants from different families that include grasses, clover, brassicas, and herbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your typical multi-species sward should include perennial ryegrass<\/a> primarily, with possibly a timothy grass, followed by white clover, red clover, plantain and chicory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of a multi-specie sward is that when they combine, the various species roots at varying depths will allow them them to access more nutrients and moisture in the soil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red and white clover have often been described as the engine of the multi-specie machine as they provide the N to produce high quantities of dry matter (DM) production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sward with a high clover content of about 20-50% can allow for fertiliser application in the summer months to be halved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While plantain and chicory in the mix will prevent any losses of N on the farm through better use of N by the animals, and will reduce farm leaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Establishment <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Multi-species are best suited for grazing and not silage. The soil fertility of the ground should be a pH of 6.2-6.5 with, ideally, an index of <3 for P and K.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are sowing the multi-specie sward as part of the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) scheme, the seed mixture required is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant Species <\/th>Weight per pack (kg)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Perennial ryegrass (PRG)<\/td>6.6<\/td><\/tr>
Timothy\/ other non PRG grass<\/td>0.7<\/td><\/tr>
White clover <\/td>1.5<\/td><\/tr>
Red clover <\/td>1.5<\/td><\/tr>
Plantain <\/td>1.0<\/td><\/tr>
Chicory <\/td>0.7<\/td><\/tr>
Total <\/td>12.0<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Much like grassland reseeding, the best conditions are when the seedbed is warm and moist and sowing should be done between April and August. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most cost-effective way of sowing the sward is by direct drilling into a stale seed bed\/minimum cultivation and is the most environmentally friendly way of doing it as it retains more soil organic matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to achieve the best results, the procedure should be as follows<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n