April 2014
50
Conservation agriculture
ON FARM LEVEL
Conservationagriculture
Yellow and stunted grass is a sign of nitrogen shortage. An annual
application of 60 kg/ha to 210 kg/ha pure N (± 200 kg to 750 kg of
limestone ammonium nitrate), depending on rainfall, has been
used with good results in the past. With current fertiliser prices,
the economics of high fertiliser levels are under scrutiny and a
lower optimum application of 150 kg N/ha (± 500 kg of limestone
ammoniumnitrate) is generally used inmultiple applications.
One of the advantages of this grass is its early spring re-growth
(before many other planted pastures) that provide grazing during
a period of insufficient and available forage. Well-fertilised weeping
lovegrass grazed in an early and leafy stage can be used for high
producinganimals, suchassteersanddairycattle. For thebest results
aquick rotational grazing system is suggested that canmaintain1,5 to
4,0MLU’sper hectare for thegrowing season (October toMarch).
Toproduce the best quality hay, the operation shouldbe completed
in one day. Start cutting early morning (05:00 am) in summer and
use a tedder to turn the grass two to three times during the day on
a sunny day, and it will be ready to bale by late afternoon. Yields
of between 4 tons/ha - 13 tons/ha can be expected as it is directly
related to rainfall received andnutrients applied.
Burning weeping lovegrass is a practice not acceptable to many
people, because it is said to reducegrassproduction. This reduction
inproductionhowever, isnot becauseof fire, but rather the incorrect
grazingpractices afterwards i.e. too soon and too frequent.
Management challenges
Weeping lovegrass needs awell-planned fertilisation programme to
enhance production, quality and palatability. The biggest challenge
experienced with hay making, is to cut it at the correct growth
stage. Weeping lovegrass is often cut when it seems to be high in
production and the species’ inflorescence has developed entirely,
but this is normallywhen it is of lowest quality.
It is recommended that it be cut when the entire sward is approxi-
mately at 10% flowering stage. This is often notedwhen the sward
changes from a light green to a darker blue green colour. It is also
known that weeping lovegrass does not make good foggage and
should rather be used for spring and early summer grazing and hay
production later in summer.
Soil conservation and health benefits
As a result of weeping lovegrass’ ability to adapt to various soil and
climatic conditions, it is known as a fail-safe pasture with various
benefits. Other than the good quality hay and grazing it provides
with goodmanagement, it is also known that this species facilitates
the improvement of soil conditions.
This isparticularlyevident in sandy soils as it serves as a soil binder,
preventing the erosion of sandy topsoil, and the improvement of
soil organicmatter due to the vigorous and prolific root system this
species has. In addition to this species’ inherent characteristic to
Weeping lovegrass (
oulandsgras
).
