22.4.2021
If you maintain your grassland well, you can look forward to high-quality staple feed and rich yields. The population can be improved by reseeding. Site-specific management helps to achieve a denser plant population and to save costs for seeds and fertilisers.
Reseeding grassland is particularly recommended in spring, but also in autumn, depending on local conditions. In contrast to new seeding, the basis for efficient grassland reseeding is an old scar worth preserving, which already has at least 10% gaps — whether due to dry damage, voles, wild boars or other adversities. The advantages of reseeding compared to new seeding are obvious: Hardly any loss of food, lower seeding risk, lower costs, guaranteed slip-resistant scar and the establishment of new species in the population. Since, during site-specific reseeding, seeds are spread precisely where they are needed, resources can also be used optimally.
First, the condition of the grassland area is analyzed depending on the season:
After the damage has been assessed, it is necessary to remove it by grooming, hauling and reseeding. Towing is primarily used to level out earthwork caused by moles or mice. In contrast, grooming is suitable for combing out old grasses, aerating the sod and preparing the grassland for reseeding. The choice of variety and amount of reseeding depends on local conditions and the amount of damage that has been found. In some cases, it is recommended to use rollers to reinforce frozen scars and reseed.
Depending on soil moisture, spring reseeding takes place during the growing season from March. However, it should be avoided that the existing stock deprives the reseeded plants of light. For this reason, reseeding should be carried out as early as possible after the last frost.
There are also several arguments for reseeding in autumn: The more resistant grassland gets through the winter better and gaps are filled early on. But there is another advantage in autumn: rainfall over the winter months. In this way, dry damage can be specifically repaired after the last cut. Late reseeding is particularly popular in the northern half of Germany, but the soil temperature should still be at least 10 degrees.
With sensor-based grassland reseeding, the amount of reseeding can be continuously adjusted to the population. Plant sensors are used for this ISARIA PRO Compact or ISARIA PRO Active, which capture vital biomass during the crossing. On this basis, the application amount is calculated and transferred to the application device as a result of the reseeding quantity.
Regardless of whether it is after the season or for spring maintenance — areas with larger imperfections are preferred to be reseeded. On the other hand, valuable seeds are saved on areas with intact growth. Farmers can set minimum and maximum quantities as well as the average sowing rate per hectare themselves. The result of this balancing method is a uniformly dense sod and therefore consistently high basic feed qualities for the farm. The collected data can then be easily managed in the ISARIA CONNECT data management system.
Advantages of site-specific grassland reseeding:
Area-specific mineral or organic fertilization is also recommended for grassland. There should be at least two weeks between reseeding and manure fertilization so as not to burn the young seedlings. There are two options:
The free software helps you manage data easily and efficiently ISARIA CONNECT. Companies have the choice between creating a homogeneous stock with the compensating variant or extracting maximum yields from grassland with the yield-oriented variant — optimally tailored to the nature of the area. In both cases, optimal fertilization has a direct effect on the quality of the silage.
Any more questions about the smart management of grassland? Feel free to talk to us!
