Ground conditions are relatively good across most parts of the country and where cuts of silage have been secured over the past week, now is an ideal time to get a lime application on to fields with a low soil pH.
Most farmers have taken soil samples in the past two years, as it is a requirement for all farmers in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) and for farmers stocked over 130kg N/ha.
Where the soil samples have identified fields with a low soil pH, lime should be applied. Teagasc recommends a maximum lime application of 7.5t/ha (3.0t/ac) but may farmers have a preference to apply a maximum of 2t/ac or approximately 5t/ha.
Where more lime is required to balance the soil pH, the balance can be applied over the following years.
Ground limestone should be applied on a ‘little and often basis’ as an excessively heavy single application of lime can can have an impact on soil structure and reduce the trafficability of the field.
Also where farmers are applying lime on a field that will be cut for silage, caution is advised as if lime remains on the grass leaf at cutting, it can cause issues with the ensiling process.
A question that often crosses farmers minds is should lime be spread before or after slurry or fertiliser is applied to the field.
According to Teagasc, where slurry is spread first, lime can be applied within 10 days but where lime is applied first, the advice is to wait three months before applying slurry. This is to reduce the risk of N loss from slurry as lime will accelerate the loss of N.
For urea, a similar situation to cattle slurry where increased N loss may occur where straight urea fertiliser is applied on recently limed land.
Teagasc advises farmers to apply urea first and apply the ground limestone seven to 10 days later to reduce the risk of N losses.
However, where protected urea is being applied, farmers can apply protected urea to fields that have been limed recently.
Where CAN or N,P,K compounds are being spread, there is no need to leave a gap, according to Teagasc.
Where farmers are reseeding, ground limestone lime can be spread in advance ideally applied to the ploughed / pressed soil and incorporated into the top 7.5-10cm of soil or alternatively, at the time of reseeding and incorporated into the seedbed before sowing.
Calcium and magnesium are the two main types of ground limestone available nationally. Calcium limestone is most widely available, while magnesium is mainly available in the south-east.