Establishment Principles – Annual meadow-grass

Note comments on timing of drilling and associated cultivations, and the benefits of shallow tillage during a long-term fallow in severe cases. Avoid disturbing weed seeds when drilling. Note comments on previous cultivations depths in the cultivation principles section. Employ the following measures to achieve this:

• Control speed of drilling to minimise upward soil movement
• Use disc openers or straight discs ahead of tine openers
• Use higher rake angle tine openers, preferably narrow knifes, to minimise surface disturbance and returning dormant, buried seeds to the surface
• Use low disturbance banding openers as opposed to those which can raise and disturb soil, including quick-change narrow knife options where following a cereal with a legume or OSR crop
• Use individually contouring opener units with depth/press wheels for consistent seed depth and to minimise working to excessive depths in high spots, this will ensure consistent and optimal seed to soil contact.
• Where soil lifting by an opener disc occurs, the use of a gauge wheel operating to the lifting side of the disc can help to control soil movement and maintain the surface soil horizons
• Make the stale seedbed preparation sufficiently consistent to avoid unnecessary tillage when drilling
• Ensure the drill tractor wheel/track slip is minimised by setting tyre pressures and ballast levels optimally. This will limit additional unnecessary surface soil movement when drilling

NOTE: In high levels of residues avoid hair-pinning (especially by multiple disc drills) by using a leading (deeper) disc, side placement of seed relative to the drill slot, or leading residue manager components to clear loose residues away from the seeding zone. Also, preferably leave a higher stubble height to reduce levels of cut residues on the surface being taken into the seeding zone by the opener action.

NOTE: When establishing with minimal disturbance, offset the low levels of mineralisation by zone placement of N with the seed and where appropriate P plus other needed trace elements. Zone fertiliser placement also reduces fertiliser availability to any germinating weed seeds.

NOTE: Drill sufficiently high rates of following crops to compete effectively, following crops should be sufficiently diverse and competitive for best overall control.