If you are proposing to plough up grassland - especially anything that's over 5 years old, please be aware of wireworm.
a) The problems and potential devastation they can cause.
b) The limited chemical control that current legislation permits.
A chemical that may have some effect on wireworm is Gaucho, but please be warned, as it has not been registered in the UK by the manufacturer Bayer. Without registration, there are therefore no claims to the efficacy of this product or specific recommendation for its use i.e. you use it at your own risk.
My best suggestion for maize after grass - assuming that you are going to use Gaucho - would be to drill around 1-2 weeks later than the "norm" in order to allow soil temperatures to warm up even more. If you then subsequently get an attack of wireworm, the combination of more aggressive plant growth and chemical will give the crop a much better chance of growing out of the problem.
You MUST seek specialist advice on wireworm control from your agronomist.
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