How to 'home-test' grass to know when to cut for silage

摘要

With late application of fertiliser and slurry to crops this spring, it has never been more important to test grass before cutting for silage.Excess nitrogen is a risk in these fields because it will depress grass sugars and increase the protein level of the crop, causing poor fermentation in the clamp.High ammonia in silage comes from protein breakdown and from clostridial organisms, explains Dr David Davies of Silage Solutions."The protein breakdown occurs when too little acid is produced in the fermentation because of a lack of sugar, or too high a residual nitrate from fertiliser or slurry, buffering the pH decline," he says.