Yellow Grass Problem

[mar]

I have a field that I reseeded in 2018 and have taken two cuts of silage from it this past two years. Every winter the grass is very unhealthy looking with yellow leaves.
It got lime and I tested it and is ok for P&K.
What would be causing the leaves to go yellow every winter

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I have a field that I reseeded in 2018 and have taken two cuts of silage from it this past two years. Every winter the grass is very unhealthy looking with yellow leaves.
It got lime and I tested it and is ok for P&K.
What would be causing the leaves to go yellow every winter

Do you check for Virus resistance when choosing grass seed . The end two in the on the chart . Thats what it is . Was a big problem last year

 

[Great In Grass]

It's difficult to say without a photo or two but it doesn't sound to me as if it's a disease.

You say you take two heavy silage cuts which leads me to ask if you are replenishing the Potash offtake?

Potash, in deficient situations, will make the tips of the leaves go yellow.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

If you look back we discussed it a lot last back end . Was rampant in West Wales
Although agree potash deficient would do the same but the fields I looked at were spring reseeds that had had had compound fertiliser applied

 

[deleted user 837354]

Could just be the weather, could be dreschlera, a fungal disease. Crown rust is red/brown in colour, it would cover your boots so unlikely to be that. Take a picture. If there are black dots on the leaves with a lot of yellow around them, I'd say it was fungal. It's not really the end of the world.

 

[Mc115reed]

Wants sheep on it, if your just taking 2 cuts off it and that’s it then it’s gonna be too long going into winter get some sheep on chew it off and it’ll come back fresh in spring

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Wants sheep on it, if your just taking 2 cuts off it and that’s it then it’s gonna be too long going into winter get some sheep on chew it off and it’ll come back fresh in spring

I had a field so bad nothing would eat it although that was in October. Sheep have finallycleared it off now grass is short , it can reduce yield by 35% , grass becomes unpalatable with bad infections. I've not googled that its my own experience

 

[mar]

Some photos of the grass

 

[bobk]

Some photos of the grass

Like they say stick some sheep on it , very open in the bottom

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Some photos of the grass

Have you had the soil tested in recent years . That would rule out potash deficiency or not . What inputs has it had last year in the way of fertiliser. Its either that or Rust . But Rust normal kicks in I late summer when its still hot and humid . When did the yellowing start
Two heavy cuts of silage can remove a lot of potash . Up to a 100 units

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Thats classic potash deficiency. Have you had any animals on it. ?

 

[mar]

Have you had the soil tested in recent years . That would rule out potash deficiency or not . What inputs has it had last year in the way of fertiliser. Its either that or Rust . But Rust normal kicks in I late summer when its still hot and humid . When did the yellowing start
Two heavy cuts of silage can remove a lot of potash . Up to a 100 units

I sowed it in the summer of 18 and it got a couple of grazings with cattle, I tested it in the Spring of 19 and it was ok for P&K, two cuts of silage in 19 and two in 20. The last time it was grazed was late September, early October.
The yellowing has been in it every winter

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I sowed it in the summer of 18 and it got a couple of grazings with cattle, I tested it in the Spring of 19 and it was ok for P&K, two cuts of silage in 19 and two in 20. The last time it was grazed was late September, early October.
The yellowing has been in it every winter

So is there any patches where, where animals have had a pee. Thats a classic sign is short of potash and How much potash have you applied

 

[Longlowdog]

I personally think you may be leaving too much grass cover on at the back end. The highest performing fields I have are hammered with sheep over the winter. As spring comes you can see sheep muck at 40 yards but they bounce back like mad, much better than any field left with any residual cover on them.

 

[upnortheast]

You said soil samples were ok 2 years ago. How much p & k have you put on since then ?. On our 2 cut silage fields that are too far away to get slurry we use a bag / acre muriate of potash. Sorry still imperial. So 600 kg bag does 12 acres or 5 ha

 

[Dog Bowl]

Muck. Muck and muck.

I had very similar symptoms in a block of recently reseeded land that I had taken on. Indices and Ph was fine.

I cut the grass 2 times in the season. Then grazed bulling heifers until October. Then applied a very heavy dose of FYM. In spring apply chicken muck. Apply normal fertiliser regime.

Done this the past 2 years and it's transformed the ground and the grass quality.

I reckon the land was lacking micro nutrients and all the goodies that is within muck.

 

[Kevtherev]

Some photos of the grass

Any sharp frosts lately?

 

[mar]

So is there any patches where, where animals have had a pee. Thats a classic sign is short of potash and How much potash have you applied

I will have a walk through it again and see if I notice any spots with pee but will probably be the weekend
It would have got two bags of 0-7-30 and 3 bags of 18-6-12 for first cut and then slurry and another 3 bags of 18-6-12 for 2nd cut

 

[mar]

I personally think you may be leaving too much grass cover on at the back end. The highest performing fields I have are hammered with sheep over the winter. As spring comes you can see sheep muck at 40 yards but they bounce back like mad, much better than any field left with any residual cover on them.

I would like to put sheep on it but there is no fencing on some of it but I hope to get that sorted before the end of the summer

 

[mar]

Muck. Muck and muck.

I had very similar symptoms in a block of recently reseeded land that I had taken on. Indices and Ph was fine.

I cut the grass 2 times in the season. Then grazed bulling heifers until October. Then applied a very heavy dose of FYM. In spring apply chicken muck. Apply normal fertiliser regime.

Done this the past 2 years and it's transformed the ground and the grass quality.

I reckon the land was lacking micro nutrients and all the goodies that is within muck.

It would be hard to get muck here in any big quantities. The plan is to be set up to collect seaweed and dose it with that.