Low fertility indicators
Meat & Livestock Australia April 6, 2020
What weeds do you see and when?
- High content of bent grass, fog grass, silver grass, onion grass, flatweed, sweet vernal grass and/or sorrel within pasture.
- Seen from autumn to December.
What could this indicate?
- Low fertility. Bent grass and fog grass are general indicators of low fertility, especially nitrogen and also phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and soil acidity.
- Low nitrogen. Silver grass
- Low phosphorus. Onion grass
- Low potassium. Flatweed, sorrel and sweet vernal grass Common on light textured soils (as potassium leaches) and on paddocks repeatedly cut for hay or silage.
- Soil acidity. Sorrel
- Also favours silver grass, bent grass and fog
grass growth as nitrogen fixation of legumes
declines.
What test can I do to confirm?
- Soil test with reference to nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and soil pH.
