As autumn progresses, the weather can change quickly so timing is critical; earlier reseeding allows for more flexibility with grazing and weed control. Remember, an unproductive sward could be losing you 3t of dry matter/ha/year. Swards with a low percentage of perennial ryegrass, that are not producing sufficient levels of grass in the shoulders of the year and have a poor response to N, shouldn’t be tolerated on the grazing platform.

Reseeding Management 

As ever, the target turnaround should be 50-60 days with a reseed. Therefore, complete spray-off by mid-august, target first grazing should be approximately the same date in October. Ideally, aim to graze at least once before closing for the winter to create a more established sward for the following spring.

With late autumn reseeds, avoid jeopardising your investment in reseeding by skimping on weed control or missing the window of opportunity. Post-emergence spraying is always your best chance to control weeds, typically applied approximately 5-6 weeks after sowing. When using a clover safe spray, keep in mind these can only be used until the end of September 2022.

Get the seedbed right

One of the most common issues seen this summer has been the inadequate rolling of new reseeds. Rolling is essential to create good soil-to-seed contact and it also helps maintain moisture within the seedbed.

Often new plants emerge quickly where the tractor tyre marks are, or in the headlands due to greater contact; this is a sign the field has been inadequately rolled. Ensure the seed bed is firm, not fluffy – roll prior to sowing if necessary to firm it up.

For further autumn reseeding advice or to find out more about our Tipperary Grass Seed Range, contact your local Agritech Sales Advisor. 

Agritech is renowned for quality grass seed mixtures. The Tipperary range is formulated to deliver high production, digestibility, palatability and persistency, with the Tipperary 4A mixture Agritech’s premium flag bearer. These essential characteristics give farmers the highest return available from their investment in reseeding. The end result is increased animal performance.

Grass seed assembly is the backbone of Agritech. They have long recognised that the key criteria in the assembly of grass mixtures is including varieties that complement each other, coupled with optimum levels of clover. New Teagasc research has confirmed that cows grazing tetraploid varieties and clover based swards yield significantly increased levels of milk. Furthermore, recent research is coming round to the Agritech opinion that tetraploid varieties are persistent and that groundcover is not a correct barometer of persistence after all. Our flagship mixture Tipperary 4A has, since its initial formulation in 1977, been based on the inclusion of adequate levels of tetraploids coupled with 1kg of clover.

Another key step in exploiting the potential of grass, achieved by Agritech, is the application of biological seed stimulants to every grass seed in all of the mixtures. The GroQuik® seed dressing is specifically designed to improve seedling establishment by accelerating germination and root development in both ryegrasses and clover. GroQuik® was originally demonstrated at London University to improve the establishment of the grass crop by 20%. Through extensive in-house research and trials, Agritech have continued to enhance GroQuik® with the addition of further bio stimulants to the dressing. The end result for farmers today is that the benefits of GroQuik® in grass swards persist for years post-establishment.

View Tipperary Grass brochure here