Maize silage growers re-grassing for winter should be aware there may be more soil N available to their winter grass than they expect.
The Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) says growers who have applied fertiliser N to their maize crops, but due of the drought have not achieved the yields they expected, should find that N still remains in the soil; and that N fertiliser is not lost.
The dry conditions experienced in many maize growing regions have also minimised the risk of N leaching, so that N which was originally applied for the maize crop can now be used by subsequent winter grass. In such situations, this means that application of N fertiliser for establishing winter grass could be cut back.
“It's best to use the existing soil N first before applying N out of a bag” says Andrea Pearson of Foundation for Arable Research. “It’s cheaper and there is less risk of N loss from leaching over winter.”