Hub Site Updates – IBERS Aberystwyth – February 2023

February 2023

• The trial areas for the grass species that were left as furrows have dried well and should easily be workable by April assuming we don’t get significant unexpected rainfall between now and then. The cold weather has broken the soil down well and it will require minimal cultivation to provide a suitable seed bed.
• The areas that have been drilled in preparation for the woody species are still quite wet especially the area planned for the Willow variety trial. The area for the 0.5ha Willow plot has dried better than the other drilled areas due to being on a slope. This area should be workable by April.
• Some of the Grass seedlings in the drilled area appear to have been lost over the winter. The seedlings were very small going into the winter and extremely cold periods appear to have reduced the seedling density.
• Some dicot weeds are beginning to emerge in both the areas for woody species and grass species (see Fig 3). Currently weed seedling density is low but I expect it to increase significantly as average temps increase. I expect the trial areas will need to sprayed with a herbicide prior to establishing the trials.

Read more about the Biomass Connect IBERS Aberystwyth Hub Site