Sown pasture rundown – The productivity decline of sown pastures over time

Have you noticed that:rundown_chisel_renovation-700x465

  • Your buffel grass is not growing as big and bulky as it used to?
  • Your buffel grass is pale green or yellow instead of being dark green, especially after rainfall?
  • Your green panic is only growing underneath large trees?
  • Your grass tussocks are smaller, with few or no seed heads?
  • Other grasses are now present in what were pure sown grass pastures?

If you have, it is likely your pasture is suffering from rundown and is no longer growing as much feed as it could. Sown pasture rundown is the decline in pasture production over time. Sown pasture grasses are initially very productive when they are planted after clearing or into fertile cropping soils. However, their productivity typically declines or becomes rundown with time. This decline is not caused by a net loss of nutrients from the soil but from the ‘tying-up’ of plant available nitrogen in the crowns, roots and organic matter of old grasses.

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