| Grass & Silage
Don’t risk grassland yield in 2016!
Reliable evidence from the British Survey of Fertiliser Practice illustrates the decline in grassland liming.
ecent trends show a largely
unchanged situation for
grassland liming in recent
years, as shown in table 1:
The data emphasises a
significant reduction in
grassland liming since 2000.
Is it sustainable that less than 5 in 100 acres
is currently receiving pH correction?
Data collected via the comprehensive PAAG
2014 survey shows the pH trends for grassland
and arable land (197K soil pH samples). In
summary, nearly 60% of grassland was found
to be below pH 6.0, and this will significantly
impact on the efficient utilisation of N, P and K.
Indications are that our grasslands are
becoming more acidic, and this will adversely
affect sward composition, leading to decline in
grassland yield and quality. Furthermore,
nitrogen applications increase the natural rate
of soil acidification, and cut herbage (i.e. silage)
removes significantly larger quantities of
calcium when compared to other crops.
Therefore, regular pH testing and corrective
liming are required to ensure consequential
loss of yield and reduced forage quality are
avoided by maintaining soil pH at an
appropriate level, such that other macro and
micro nutrients are available to the growing
crop.
LimeX is the ideal product for fast acting, but
lasting pH correction on grassland, and can be
used in organic farming systems. Furthermore,
the integral nutrient package within LimeX
contributes to maintaining soil fertility by
supplying valuable quantities of P2O5, MgO
and SO3.
For example, a ‘maintenance’ application of
LimeX70 at 5/t ha will supply a minimum of:
• 50kg P2O5
• 35kg MgO
• 30kg SO3
The