Brief Description: Short term Italian ryegrass and red clover ley
Duration:  2 years

Mixture:
  6.00 kg certified Gemini tetraploid Italian ryegrass
  3.00 kg certified Ligrande Italian ryegrass
  3.00 kg certified Merviot red clover
 
Additional Information:
Both red clover and Italian ryegrass produce a vast amount of bulk, particularly Italian ryegrass in its first full harvest year from an autumn sowing. Red clover is an ideal companion as the upright, open growth of Italian ryegrass permits the right amount of space and light for the red clover plants to establish, produce good leaf growth and develop a deep root structure. This in turn means the red clover can very efficiently fix atmospheric nitrogen via its root nodules and therefore minimise the requirement of adding artificial N to the crop. Any grass seed ley containing red clover also has a much higher protein content (compared to ryegrass alone) maximising voluntary intake of the available forage. The aftermath of silage production can be used for late season grazing and ideally the crop should not be left too tall going into the winter months. From trials we have seen red clover be far more productive when sown with competitive grasses than as a single stand. Red clover seed should be sown by late September. There is no requirement for a persistent variety in such a short term ley as this.