13 June 2023
Management of multispecies swards
The Multi Species Sward Measure, introduced by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, aimed to incentivise farmers to sow a multispecies sward, with a payment rate of €300/ha for crop establishment. Eamonn Dempsey, Teagasc Advisor, tells us more.
The measure was closed for applications on the 29th of May, with applicants indicating the multispecies sward crop on their 2023 Basic Income Support for Sustainability application. As part of the measure a minimum seeding rate of 30kg per hectare must be purchased and sown before the 15th July 2023. Multispecies swards sown that are not included in the Multi Species Sward Measure can be sown any time between late spring and early autumn.
One of the biggest attractions of growing multispecies swards is their potential to reduce the requirement of nitrogen fertiliser, with trials reporting multispecies swards receiving little or no N achieving similar yields to grass swards receiving large quantities of N. Ideally soil temperatures should be around 10 degrees for successful germination and establishment. Multispecies swards are most suitable for good quality, dry land. However, when deciding on a mixture, soil type and local climate are important as some species are better suited than others to particularly wet or dry conditions.
A good starting point is a mixture of species that will perform on a range of soil types like perennial ryegrass, white clover and ribwort plantain. Once we have this foundation, the mixture can be tailored towards dry or wet soils. In particularly light, dry soils, adding species like festulolium, cocksfoot, lucerne and chicory will help keep the sward productive during prolonged dry periods. On the other hand, in heavy, wet soils, species like timothy, birdsfoot trefoil and plantain are well equipped to cope with such challenging conditions.
The conventional method of burning off and ploughing the old sward is the most effective way to establish a new multispecies sward resulting in a greater abundance of sown species and fewer weeds. This is important as we cannot apply any herbicide on multispecies swards as the herb portion is not resistant to herbicide.
Oversowing legumes and herbs into an existing grass sward represent an economical alternative method for establishing multispecies swards. It is critical, however, to address any weed issues in the field before oversowing, therefore choose a field with a low weed burden. Species like white clover, plantain and chicory should be oversown at between 1.5 and 2kg/acre each. As with any oversowing operation, it is important to reduce competition from established plants by sowing into an open sward in which soil-seed contact can be made, and light can reach the new seedlings.
Grazing management of multispecies swards are similar to grass swards with quality directly related to the proportion of leaf and stem. Since the peak growth rates of multispecies swards occur in summer, they complement grass swards on the grazing platform perfectly. Allow 21 to 28 days between grazing to improve persistence without reducing forage quality.
A multispecies sward, is thought to be better suited to grazing than silage, however Teagasc trials have found multispecies to ensile equally as well as grass swards. They have lower dry matter content than grass swards due primarily to the presence of legumes, therefore it recommended that multispecies sward for silage are cut in dry conditions and allowed a sufficient wilt period to improve the chances of a successful preservation as silage. Multispecies swards are a sustainable source of high quality forage.