Post maize cover options

Now we’re into October, and after an early start for many, the maize harvest campaign is well underway. Harvesting maize often leaves the field in a sorry state, with bare soil exposed to the elements and therefore prone to soil erosion and nitrate leaching if left bare.At Bartholomews, we have several mixes which can be sown to help prevent deterioration of your fields.

Sowing a crop such as a grass or mustard after maize can give several benefits:

• Vast, fibrous root systems which helps bind the soil together preventing the loss of valuable topsoil through soil runoff. This also prevents enrichment of local surface waters through phosphate pollution.

• Easily leachable nutrients such as nitrogen left over in the soil can be taken up by the sown species, thereby reducing nitrate leaching into local water sources.

• Large tap roots from species such as tillage radish can help ameliorate compaction, which can improve the yield of next year’s crop.

• Additional organic matter when cultivated back into the soil ahead of the next crop.

• Some species can provide extra forage if needed, this can be especially beneficial in years such as this when grass availability is low.

The handy chart below illustrates safe sowing dates for useful cover crop species:

Rye

A quick growing option that is fantastic for preventing leaving and scavenging nutrients, particularly Nitrogen. Even at low rates, rye is great at supressing weeds and will help improve soil structure. Forage Rye can be sown as late as October and is winter hardy.

Black Oats

Deep fibrous roots on black oats make the suitable to improve soil structure and relieve compaction. Black Oats also contain allelopathic qualities, which help with the suppression of blackgrass germination. Can be sensitive to, frost but have the ability to be sown up until October.

Italian Ryegrass

High yielding and quick to produce that ‘early bite’ in the spring, providing extra forage if requires, as well as a green cover over winter.

Westerwolds

A very productive, fast growing annual species which will provide a good cut of silage the following year.

Mustard

White mustard is typically used in most situations as it is quick to establish and will produce a good mount of biomass. This makes it excellent at preventing leaving and controlling weeds. Can improve soil structure and build organic matter but it is not winter hardy.

Winter cereal

Post maize might be an opportune time to plant a winter cereal, either for grain or to whole crop as an extra forage.

Undersowing

If getting a crop in post-harvest is not suitable for your situation, undersowing maize is an option.

We have two options available:

• Early Sowing recommendation would be Amenity Tall Fescue sown at 5kg/acre.

• Later Sowing recommendation would be straight IRG, again sown at 5kg/acre.

Having an under sown crop can be beneficial, particularly at harvest as it helps to keep the soil structure rather than allowing run off.

Please contact the seed department for availability and prices.