Inter-row & Cover Crops

The Curator Maca Mix blend provides added flexibility for everyday farmers. Mixes can be tailored to suit your needs for specific climates, orchards, shade conditions, erosion settings, drought conditions, maintenance, and harvesting needs. Download the factsheet here. 

 

Key features 

  • Better quality inter-rows
  • Low cut turf density
  • Good wear tolerance
  • Shade tolerance
  • Assisting in erosion control
  • Good drought tolerance

 

Key benefits

  • Better coverage inter-rows mean less soil and erosion loss
  • Improved shade species mean no bare spots
  • Lower cut turf varieties that sit the nut ‘on top’ for reduced yield loss
  • Lower cut turf varieties reduce upright growth that can harbour rodents
  • Lower maintenance varieties reduce mowing and fuel costs

 

Choose from the following species:

 

Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) produces a vigorous, deep-rooted, medium green, dense turf, which is well adapted to most soils, which grows the best in warm climates. Bermudagrass spreads by both rhizomes and stolons. It has excellent density, wear, drought, heat, and salt tolerance. Bermudagrass establishes quickly, producing a surface for nuts to sit on top of, during harvest. Bermudagrass once established, is strong against weeds.
 

Sportsfield turf Ryegrass (Lolium Perenne) is a versatile continental grass suited to a wide range of climates throughout Australia. Sportsfield turf ryegrass is a cost-effective variety. It establishes quickly to allow areas with a similar density to the “Gabba” surface. It has good shade tolerance and is well suited for Autumn/winter seeding. Sportsfield turf ryegrass has excellent genetic parentage exhibiting dark green turf quality, wear tolerance, disease resistance, low density, providing ease in mowing. 
 

Narrow leaf carpet grass (Axonopus fissifolius) is a perennial creeping grass which makes a dense low profile, low maintenance lawn grass. It can perform well in, a wide variety of soil conditions and can be a dominant species in low fertile situations.

Carpet grass performs very well in the shade of inter-rows and can also grow in full sun, making it a very adaptable species. Because of its prostrate growth and dense turf, Carpet Grass is a great choice in mixture.

 

Zoysia (Zoysia japonica) is a low maintenance slower growing grass. Despite having runners that allow the grass to spread, it will not be overtaking an inter-row situation too quickly. Zoysia turf is an excellent choice for shaded inter-row situations, coping well with 40% shade for wear areas, and 50% shade for low wear areas, perfect for grassed areas that have overhanging foliage.

 

Queensland blue couch (Digitaria didactyla) is an excellent choice to produce a soft, fine leaf grass lawn which as its name suggests, has a blue-green tinge. It is ideal for tropical and sub-tropical areas, as it grows well on a wide range of neutral to acid soils.

Queensland blue couch is a dominant grass when compared to other warm season varieties, particularly under low fertility conditions. It has good drought tolerance and recovers well from drought, following rainfall events.

 

Pensacola Bahia's (Paspalum notatum) has excellent drought resistance with better shade tolerance, than bermudagrass. In southern Queensland, it is a major perennial grass weed species in, parks and urban open space areas. Pensacola Bahia’s ability to withstand drought better than most other grasses, makes it well suited to low maintenance areas with limited irrigation. It is used turf situations such as roadsides, lawns, inter-rows situations and airports. Seeds can take some time to establish but once established, it becomes a dominant turf species due to its, robust root system and dense mat of stolons and rhizomes.

 

We welcome the opportunity to develop tailored packages for your specific sports, environmental or horticultural applications. A full range of custom

blend options are available.

 

 

For more information please contact your local Barenbrug Territory manager or call FREECALL 1800 007 333

 

Establishment

For best results, warm season species like Bermudagrass, Carpet, Zoysia seed should be planted when soil temperatures reach at least 18°c. Seeding rate of mixes will vary on seeding methods used however, 25- 50 kg per ha sown into a well-prepared firm seedbed, should suffice. Ensure seed is covered with no more than 6mm of soil. Maintain adequate soil moisture around seed using frequent but light irrigation or rain events.

During establishment, it is recommended to apply a suitable starter fertiliser such as, MAP to supply good nitrogen and phosphorus nutrition during grow in. Stands should be fertilised once a month during grow in, dependent on soil tests. It should also be noted that in late Autumn, as warm season species are preparing for dormancy, it is recommended to apply additional amounts of potassium while significantly reducing nitrogen. 

 

For further information on the best mix for your needs please sontact your local Barenbrug Territory Manager.

 

The economically and ecologically sound use and management of grass occupies a prominent position in Barenbrug’s product development. Through the introduction of the GreenEarth quality label, Barenbrug is helping green space managers to achieve a more sustainable use and management of grass.

 

 

 

Curator plantation blend is a winter active, semi summer dormant inter-row blend. It is specifically designed for

plantation seeding including vineyards and orchards. It has winter growth and recovery providing wear tolerance for plantation machinery. Extreme drought tolerance provides a long term stand that won’t require reseeding.

 

 

 

Curator Mow Saver is ideal for situations requiring minimal maintenance. This blend has improved drought tolerance  and lower mowing requirements, making it perfectly suited to berry farms, vineyard inter-rows, cemeteries and industrial or estate situations that require infrequent maintenance once established.

 

 

 
                       

(Sowing rate: 2 - 3kg/100m2)

Phacelia, also know variously as blue tansy, scorpion weed, fiddleneck, is a member

of the borage family that originates from south-western North America. It is widely

cultivated for use as a constituent in green manure crops, cover crops, and diverse

annual forage mixes. Phacelia is also very highly regarded as a bee forage and for

beneficial insects such as hoverflies.

 

Download a copy of the Phacelia factsheet here. 

 

 

Download a copy of the Green Manure factsheet here.

 

Green manures are sown into ground between crops by gardeners and fresh-market producers, usually during autumn and early winter, although they have application for spring and summer in some situations. Green manures are most often used for vegetable cropping rotations, but may also be used for preparing ground for ornamental gardens, or more broadly to improve ground for following crops in agriculture generally. There is also wide-spread adoption in vineyard and other perennial horticultural enterprises.

 

Key features

  • Nutrient sink – captures nutrients that may otherwise leach away below the cropping zone
  • Less reliance on artificial fertilisers
  • Often less irrigation needed on subsequent crops

 

Key benefits

  • Soil stabilisation – helps avoid erosion where soils may be bare or fallowed
  • Increased fertility – adds significant amounts of soil organic matter
  • Nitrogen Fixation – Lupins, peas, vetch, clovers and tic beans obtain nitrogen from the air and it becomes available to subsequent crops

 

Planting: late summer to early spring

 

Analysis         by weight     

Ryecorn          10%  

Oats                10% 

Barley             10% 

Faba Beans    30% 

Lupins             20% 

Field Peas       20%  


Add 5% by weight of phacelia, mustard, rape or tillage radish if these additional species are desired.

 

Suggested sowing rates

Home garden  

2–3 good handfuls per square metre = about 30–50 g/m2

 

e.g. garden bed 5m wide x 10m long 

= 50 m2, 50 x 50g = 2.5kg required
 
Broader scale applications 

200–300 kg per hectare  = about 75–125 kg per acre

 

Management & use patterns

Whilst many annual plants including weeds may offer some benefits as green manure, species should be selected that will establish vigorously for the time of year planted, and be readily incorporated into the soil. The Green Manure Blend is suitable for crops being grown in cooler times of the year, and sub-tropical species will only suit early summer planting. Whilst one of the main roles of a green manure is to capture nutrients to make them available for subsequent cropping, there will in many cases be sound cause and justification to apply some form of fertiliser where elements may be lacking and thus impact growth potential. A soil test and reflection on recent cropping history will offer guidance.
Generating biomass quickly is a key for success. Crops should be sown at seeding rates that assist with developing a quick ground cover, bearing in mind that we are not seeking to grow the crop to full maturity. Best results are achieved if the crop is relatively young, lush and vegetative when it is time to finish it up. Typically allow for around 8–10 weeks growth before slashing, mulching or digging in. The crops should be leafy and tender at and around 40–60 cm high with full ground-cover at time of incorporation. Allowing crops to get taller may increase their fibrous nature: the crop may be more difficult to manage, and there may be unsatisfactory amounts of stem and other residue remaining.