Wait time for silage after nitrogen

doyleshill

How long do I have to wait to cut Baled silage after spreading nitrogen.

reilig

doyleshill wrote: »

How long do I have to wait to cut Baled silage after spreading nitrogen.

How many units of Nitrogen did you put on?
Grass will use up approximately 2 - 3 units of nitrogen per day when growing. So if you pot on 100 units of nitrogen per acre then it will be all used up 33 to 50 days after yu spread it. Hence, a lot of people use 6 weeks as a guideline.

However, if your timeframe is less than this, it is perfectly possible for you to cut silage now. If you wilt the grass, the Nitrogen will be removed from it and you will have perfectly good silage.

Muckit

This tread should be made a sticky it's been asked so many times this past few weeks!!

trabpc

One more if I may!

All talk about units.

I presume one bag 18-6-12 contains 18 units of nitrogen so if I spread one bag to the acre and use a safe figure of ground using 2 units per day, after 9 days all nitrogen should be used up?

reilig

trabpc wrote: »

One more if I may!

All talk about units.

I presume one bag 18-6-12 contains 18 units of nitrogen so if I spread one bag to the acre and use a safe figure of ground using 2 units per day, after 9 days all nitrogen should be used up?

That's it exactly

trabpc

reilig wrote: »

That's it exactly

Thanks. Lots of guys on other threads were quoting brand names Ie pasture sward but not giving nitrogen value when doing calculations.

Out of interest what is pasture sward is it
27-2.5-5?

grange mac

guys...what happens if grass is cut without all nitrogen being used up..aka cut & round baled....was going to do so yest but decided not to and leave it. But am curious what happens if cut & baled with minimal wilting...

trabpc

grange mac wrote: »

guys...what happens if grass is cut without all nitrogen being used up..aka cut & round baled....was going to do so yest but decided not to and leave it. But am curious what happens if cut & baled with minimal wilting...

Guessing but it probably would rot in bale

paddyc310

Sure to rot in bale wait few days sure to get day or 2 for wilt and have it perfect Good luck,,,,

grange mac

paddyc310 wrote: »

Sure to rot in bale wait few days sure to get day or 2 for wilt and have it perfect Good luck,,,,

Will be waiting more than few days going by forecast...but hav serioius cut. Up 30% on last year...thanks to soil test & 3.5 bags acre 0 7 30...& can. Grass growing "in theory lol" since last nov!! Field didnt cut had to get more fert in mid may as was not as strong as other field.

mikeoh

How many units of N lost each day its left to wilt??

onyerbikepat

This rule of 2 Units per day is killing me, at the moment. I have silage that I could really cut now but nitrogen is only out about 3 weeks and it got about 60 units /acre. Ideally i should wait 2 more weeks or so, but it will probably be raining then. Anyone else in the same boat.

Zr105

onyerbikepat wrote: »

This rule of 2 Units per day is killing me, at the moment. I have silage that I could really cut now but nitrogen is only out about 3 weeks and it got about 60 units /acre. Ideally i should wait 2 more weeks or so, but it will probably be raining then. Anyone else in the same boat.

Get it tested, in the last week with that sun/heat id say its used an awful lot more than the 2/day

_Brian

That's the point.
2 units is an average guideline, there was savage growth there for a while and it seem to have consumed well above the two units.
I know lads who waited eight weeks, got grass tested thinking they were borderline and were told it probably could have been cut two weeks earlier.

Get it tested and you'll know for sure.

eoinmk2

with the good growth in the last month would the grass have used more than the 2 units per day?

we spread 100 units on the 22nd april, and were planning on cutting the 50 days after that, but with all the growth its getting very heavy and starting to head out. Its mostly for store cattle and a few suckler cows so quality is not massively important, but I dont exactly want big pit of sh1t at the same time. want to keep the stores ticking over well over the winter

anyone know how soon we could cut it? or how long teagasc take to get back with results of the N levels?

farmerjj

eoinmk2 wrote: »

with the good growth in the last month would the grass have used more than the 2 units per day?

we spread 100 units on the 22nd april, and were planning on cutting the 50 days after that, but with all the growth its getting very heavy and starting to head out. Its mostly for store cattle and a few suckler cows so quality is not massively important, but I dont exactly want big pit of sh1t at the same time. want to keep the stores ticking over well over the winter

anyone know how soon we could cut it? or how long teagasc take to get back with results of the N levels?

You spread less than a month ago so probably nitrogen still in it, but get it tested in your local co-op if your worried.

freedominacup

eoinmk2 wrote: »

with the good growth in the last month would the grass have used more than the 2 units per day?

we spread 100 units on the 22nd april, and were planning on cutting the 50 days after that, but with all the growth its getting very heavy and starting to head out. Its mostly for store cattle and a few suckler cows so quality is not massively important, but I dont exactly want big pit of sh1t at the same time. want to keep the stores ticking over well over the winter

anyone know how soon we could cut it? or how long teagasc take to get back with results of the N levels?

Nitrates test takes a few mins. While u wait job.

eoinmk2

Oh right. I thought it was a like a silage test job, wait for a week or so.

cheers

donaja

Im struggling with understanding the units here. If I spread 23-4-13 at hundredweight per acre, does that mean i've spread 23 units of nitrogen per acre, and therefore will be safe to cut after 11.5 days? (Given that 2 units of nitrogen is used per day)

Alibaba

donaja wrote: »

Im struggling with understanding the units here. If I spread 23-4-13 at hundredweight per acre, does that mean i've spread 23 units of nitrogen per acre, and therefore will be safe to cut after 11.5 days? (Given that 2 units of nitrogen is used per day)

That's right as far as I know.

3 bags to acre of we'll say 18-6-12

3 x 18 = 54 divided by 2 = 27 Wait 27 days

donaja

Alibaba wrote: »

That's right as far as I know.

3 bags to acre of we'll say 18-6-12

3 x 18 = 54 divided by 2 = 27 Wait 27 days

Ok thanks for that. In my case it wouldn't be 3 bags an acre it was roughly 15 bags (of 600kg) over 50 acres. So that would be 0.3 bags to the acre which is a very low spread compared to your example.

charolais0153

He means small bags (50kgs) to the acre. You applied 9000 kilos to 50 acres that's 180 KGS an acre so 3.6 bags to the acre of wharever fertiliser

massey woman

Hi
Meant to ask this question many times
If you take a bag of 10-10-20
Am I right in saying thats 10%N,10%P and 20% K
Thats 40% or is it 40 Units
Whats in the remainder assuming the bag contains 100 units
please and thanks
MW

valtra2

massey woman wrote: »

Hi
Meant to ask this question many times
If you take a bag of 10-10-20
Am I right in saying thats 10%N,10%P and 20% K
Thats 40% or is it 40 Units
Whats in the remainder assuming the bag contains 100 units
please and thanks
MW

Sand

Count Mondego

massey woman wrote: »

Hi
Meant to ask this question many times
If you take a bag of 10-10-20
Am I right in saying thats 10%N,10%P and 20% K
Thats 40% or is it 40 Units
Whats in the remainder assuming the bag contains 100 units
please and thanks
MW

You're only worried about the N, so each bag contains 10 units, not 40. The remainder is just whatever compound is used to bind it.

Water John

With modern fertiliser each grain contains the ratio set out. I presume the rest of each grain is binding/filler.

massey woman

Water John wrote: »

With modern fertiliser each grain contains the ratio set out. I presume the rest of each grain is binding/filler.

60% of filler or fines would be very expensive considering you can buy at your local quarry limestone filler/fines for €14/tonne ?
Am I missing something here €14 v€450

ganmo

ammonia = nitrogen +3 hydrogen getting down to molecular weights
n = 7 h = 1 so 30% of any ammonia is ignored when it comes to the 'units'
not sure what that % would be for p and k but i doubt theyre adding in limestone

yosemitesam1

Potash would be half chloride, phosphorus would have sulfur and calcium in it depending on type.

Rushy Fields

Quick question: Have fertilizer out since the 10th May (CAN 2.5 bags per acre 50kg bags based on soil tests). just wondering when can i cut? I know theres a rule of thumb of 50 days. The place is starting to lodge and the crop is heavy and stemmy. Can i cut next week and let it wilt for a couple of days?

alps

nealger wrote: »

Quick question: Have fertilizer out since the 10th May (CAN 2.5 bags per acre 50kg bags based on soil tests). just wondering when can i cut? I know theres a rule of thumb of 50 days. The place is starting to lodge and the crop is heavy and stemmy. Can i cut next week and let it wilt for a couple of days?

Fertiliser is well and truly gone...if pitting I would only give 24 hours wilt absolute max, or you really run the risk of heating at feedout. Bales different matter...