Peck, Gavin, Johnson, Brian, Kedzlie, Graham, Taylor, Bradley, O'Reagain, Joe, Newman, Louise, Buck, Stuart, and Mace, Gina (2015) Improving the reliability of establishing legumes into grass pastures in the sub-tropics. In: Proceedings of the 17th Agronomy Australia Conference. From: 17th Agronomy Australia Conference, 20-24 September, 2022, Hobart.

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Abstract

Poor establishment is the most common reason for failure of pasture legumes sown into existing grass pastures on commercial farms in the sub-tropics. Although good establishment is recognised as critical to the long term productivity and persistence of legumes, most producers use low-cost and low-reliability establishment techniques such as broadcasting out of planes after either no or minimal pasture disturbance (e.g. fire); one-pass cultivation with seed spread at the same time; or severe soil disturbance and a rough seed bed behind a blade plough used primarily for controlling woody regrowth. This paper reports the results of a trial designed to test the impact of different fallow periods (medium – 4 months; short – 2 months; disturb at plant and no disturbance); seed-bed preparation (cultivation or zero tillage); drilling or broadcasting seed and post emergence herbicides when establishing legumes into existing grass pastures. The most common, commercially used establishment techniques of sowing legume seed into grass pastures with no disturbance or single pass cultivation treatments at plant all resulted in establishment failure. Spraying at plant resulted in adequate numbers of legumes. Short or medium fallows resulted in similar densities of legume plants with between all treatments, however treatments with greater control of the grass and post emergence weed control grew better which resulted in more seedling recruitment in the subsequent year. At 25months after sowing only fallowed treatments with Spinnaker post-emergence weed control achieved legume numbers above benchmark figures for establishment success. The trial demonstrates that agronomic practices commonly used for grain cropping (such as fallowing to store soil moisture) can improve the reliability of establishing legumes into existing grass pastures.

Item ID:	82804
Item Type:	Conference Item (Scholarly Work)
Keywords:	Legumes, Legume establishment, Stylosanthes, Stylo, Desmanthus, Subtropics,
Date Deposited:	20 Jun 2024 01:05
FoR Codes:	30 AGRICULTURAL, VETERINARY AND FOOD SCIENCES > 3004 Crop and pasture production > 300405 Crop and pasture biomass and bioproducts @ 50% 30 AGRICULTURAL, VETERINARY AND FOOD SCIENCES > 3004 Crop and pasture production > 300403 Agronomy @ 50%
SEO Codes:	10 ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND ANIMAL PRIMARY PRODUCTS > 1005 Pasture, browse and fodder crops > 100505 Sown pastures (excl. lucerne) @ 100%
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