Cover crops open day to focus on benefits for barley production systems
Teagasc has confirmed that it is to host a cover crops open day at Oak Park in Co. Carlow on Friday, October 30.
The event will profile the results already generated from trials, hosted by Teagasc in association with Boortmalt, looking at the benefits that cover crops can bring to spring barley-based production systems.
These include improvements in soil health, a significant reduction in nitrate leaching rates from soils, and improved levels of carbon assimilation within soils.
The head of Teagasc’s Crops Knowledge Transfer Department, Michael Hennessy, commented: “On the day, visitors will have the opportunity of viewing 28 individual cover crops species, established using a range of different techniques, sown out at differing times.
“The event will also profile a range of issues relating to soil health and quality."
He explained that there are a number of reasons why the role for cover crops within spring cereal systems has been identified as a research and development priority.
“Chief among these is the fact that the likes of spring barley has a mid-August harvest date with, invariably, straw lifted towards the end of that months.
“Up to now, this would have left growers with quite a narrow window within which to get cover crops established," he said.
Given this backdrop, Teagasc has looked at a new range of establishment options, which allow for the planting of cover crops pre harvest, on the day of harvest and post harvest.
“We have used drones to spread seed through a barley crop prior to harvest. Other options in this regard include the use of bespoke planting machines and amended fertiliser sowers.
“When it comes to sowing cover crops as a spring cereal is actually harvested, it’s a case of connecting a bespoke planter to the combine with the seeds deposited on the soil as the machine travels through the field," Hennessy said.
Open day
Examples of all this work can be viewed at the open day.
The Oak Park trials will also reflect the fact that planting conditions for cover crops were "very challenging" throughout the entire month of August.
The upcoming Teagasc open day is further verification of the fact that drones can be used as a flexible management tool within the tillage sector.
And the scope of this activity is set to continue as the technology becomes more widely available.
Support for the establishment of cover crops is available courtesy of the ACRES and Water European Innovation Partnership (EIP) schemes.
