Broadcast your seed rather than drill in rows?

[Brisel]

I will pass on the suggestion. We have loads of data on broadcasting but possibly not specifically looking at the implications for grass weed control.

It was the combination of delaying sowing & weed control I was thinking of. I'm sure some of your members who have blackgrass & heavy land might be curious! Broadcasting and post em spraying might be a way of managing BG yet have a chance of establishing a crop later in a wet autumn.

 

[yellow belly]

if you have no slugs or birds then it may work

imho beans would be a complete failure on any soil type

wheat would fail on any heavy soil unless properly covered so not till would be out

if bg is bad then an autumn crop is best avoided

 

[RTK Farmer]

It was the combination of delaying sowing & weed control I was thinking of. I'm sure some of your members who have blackgrass & heavy land might be curious! Broadcasting and post em spraying might be a way of managing BG yet have a chance of establishing a crop later in a wet autumn.

One has to ask how beans would establish in nature. As far as I know only wild oat seeds drill themselves into the soil as they wind themselves in a bit when the "spike" gets damp. So pods split and seed drops to the ground amongst the tall crop, get damp and grow. So if you broadcast bean seed into a standing cover crop what would happen? Establishment % would be low? how low? and herbicide use restricted obviously. Just a thought!

 

[Sonoftheheir]

Would have thought it would be bad for slug damage. Never seen so many slugs than this year on our cover crops.

 

[warksfarmer]

One has to ask how beans would establish in nature. As far as I know only wild oat seeds drill themselves into the soil as they wind themselves in a bit when the "spike" gets damp. So pods split and seed drops to the ground amongst the tall crop, get damp and grow. So if you broadcast bean seed into a standing cover crop what would happen? Establishment % would be low? how low? and herbicide use restricted obviously. Just a thought!

Winter Beans that couldn't get harvested due to extremely poor weather shed the pods. The field was left and harvested the following september and the yield was as expected. No mechanical work was done to the field.

 

[RTK Farmer]

Winter Beans that couldn't get harvested due to extremely poor weather shed the pods. The field was left and harvested the following september and the yield was as expected. No mechanical work was done to the field.

Clearly broadcasting beans on a bare field is a recipe for disaster but into a standing cover crop may work like nature intended, less that optimum possible yield yes but minimal costs.
Who's prepared to try a 10mt square in some CC.

 

[Jim Bullock]

Yesterday Dwayne Beck was talking BASE about the concept of "clay coated seed" which would enable you to broadcast seed into standing crops and enable more of us to go down the double cropping route.. No doubt the cost of the seed would out-weigh agronomic advantages.

 

[usedtofarm]

i used to broadcast wheat, barley, osr and grasseed . spin on, lightspring tine, chain harrow in opposite direction then roll. osr/ grass just rolled.looking back there wasn't a man hour saving but you did cover a lot of ground quicky. nowadays I'm sure a vaderstad carrier after putting wheat on would work.

 

[Baling Hay]

i used to broadcast wheat, barley, osr and grasseed . spin on, lightspring tine, chain harrow in opposite direction then roll. osr/ grass just rolled.looking back there wasn't a man hour saving but you did cover a lot of ground quicky. nowadays I'm sure a vaderstad carrier after putting wheat on would work.

Would the carrier not damage the seeds?

 

[Clive]

In @Clive 's drill trial the broadcasted plot outyielded all the drileld plots!

 

[usedtofarm]

chances of seed damage very slim.

In some years I ran powerharrow set really shallow(just enough to take wheelings out). very good results but eventually put drill on powerharrow and saved fuel and labour. I was always adamant that broadcasting in good conditions, and not last resort, was as good a way of establishment as any....and much cheaper than these new drills....which still leave seed on top. Just look a youtube and see really expensive drills with the coulters bouncing up and down.

 

[jameslloyd]

Very common to broadcast and cover her esp after maize if wet we broadcast and then mow the stalks. If dry we cover with a set of disc at high speed. I covered 105 ha in 5 days. That includes spreading fertilizer also, and all of the seed was on little bags.

We have done this after osr but slugs can be a problem, so need to up seed rate a little.

Neighbor who is min till has mounted a Kuhn areo in front of challenger and has 10m vibro behind, he can do around 120 ha per day!!!!!

 

[Baling Hay]

Very common to broadcast and cover her esp after maize if wet we broadcast and then mow the stalks. If dry we cover with a set of disc at high speed. I covered 105 ha in 5 days. That includes spreading fertilizer also, and all of the seed was on little bags.

We have done this after osr but slugs can be a problem, so need to up seed rate a little.

Neighbor who is min till has mounted a Kuhn areo in front of challenger and has 10m vibro behind, he can do around 120 ha per day!!!!!

What is your rotation? DO you do wheat after grain maize?

 

[jameslloyd]

Wheat grain maize rotation on irrigated land. Wheat sunflower wheat. Maize on non irrigated land

I will put a few photos up tomorrow of how it all looks now

 

[Baling Hay]

Wheat grain maize rotation on irrigated land. Wheat sunflower wheat. Maize on non irrigated land

I will put a few photos up tomorrow of how it all looks now

Do you not get a lot of fusarium after the maize on your wheat?

 

[jameslloyd]

Do you not get a lot of fusarium after the maize on your wheat?

We do an ear wash and we grow only fusarium resistant varieties

 

[jameslloyd]

See below some photos of crop established using this method. Some are after maize grain and other are after sunflowers. It was drilled at 150kg/ha (need to up it by 20kg), and the same day we spread 80kg of super 45, then covered with set of discs. It has had 100kg of urea applied to it about 3 weeks ago. The wheat after sunflowers has been treated with 3ltrs Chlortoluron 500g at 2-3leaves

 

[Baling Hay]

See below some photos of crop established using this method. Some are after maize grain and other are after sunflowers. It was drilled at 150kg/ha (need to up it by 20kg), and the same day we spread 80kg of super 45, then covered with set of discs. It has had 100kg of urea applied to it about 3 weeks ago. The wheat after sunflowers has been treated with 3ltrs Chlortoluron 500g at 2-3leaves

What date was it put in?

 

[jameslloyd]

What date was it put in?

Drilled on 20 October

 

[Shropshire Farmer]

Dragging up an old thread... Was sowing away yesterday thinking why are we sowing ?
Thinking is that a section control spreader followed by a Vaderstad nz or similar set at 2 inches would establish a crop perfectly well. Why have money tied up in seed drills ?