Roughage tour Week 11
Grass growth is slow to start due to cold
Due to the cold and rainfall of the past few days, there is little activity on the plots. While the slurry could be applied smoothly and without damage this year, the fertilizer application is now taking a long time.
With the persistent cold and rain, many participants in the Boerenbusiness Roughage tour postponed the fertilizer application. But with the positive weather forecasts ahead, a number of participants will start next week.
Soil temperature up to standard
“The grass starts to grow slowly between 5 and 8 degrees. If you look at the roots and show these white dots, then the plant wants to grow and needs fertilization," says Antoon Verhoeven, roughage specialist in the Southwest Netherlands of Limagrain. "This first fertilization is best done with slurry, because this contains all nutrients. But if, for example, this is not yet possible on new grassland, an initial small amount of fertilizer is very sensible.” For example, Bert Wissels from Hengelo only applied a fertilizer to the sown areas to give the young grass a good start.
A lot of spread between participants
Silvain Kusters from Guttecoven (Limburg) hopes to administer the first gift next week. ''In the meantime, the fertilizer can be used on the land in order to take advantage of a divided gift. As the first gift I sprinkle the 'grass mix entec'. Due to the high proportion of ammonium nitrogen and the added part of sulfur, it is a nice gift to start with. Joost van Nostrum from Brabant will wait a little longer before spreading. “I think the fields are still too wet. I want to wait another 10 days before I apply the fertilizer."
While growth generally lags behind due to the cold, Ruben Marijnissen in Zeeland does not notice this. Unlike the other participants, he chose to scatter the first gift early. ''The grass was ready and the soil temperature was good, so I chose to spread and I'm very satisfied with that.'' This gives Marijnissen a considerable lead over the rest and is almost ready for the second fertilizer application.
Erik van der Deure
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