Effects of grazing method and fertiliser inputs on the productivity andsustainability of phalaris-based pastures in Western Victoria

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (8) ◽  
pp. 785 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. F. Chapman ◽  
M. R. McCaskill ◽  
P. E. Quigley ◽  
A. N. Thompson ◽  
J. F. Graham ◽  
...  

The effects of combinations of different fertiliser rates and grazing methods applied to phalaris-based pastures on an acid, saline, yellow sodosol on the Dundas Tablelands of western Victoria (mean annual rainfall 623�mm) were measured from 1997 to 2000. The objective was to help identify management systems that improve phalaris growth and persistence, water use, and animal production, and thereby the productivity and sustainability of grazing systems. Pastures were either set stocked with low [mean 6.4 kg phosphorus (P)/ha.year] or high (mean 25 kg P/ha.year) fertiliser rates, or rotationally grazed with high fertiliser (mean 25 kg P/ha.year). Rotational grazing was implemented as either a simple '4-paddock' system (fixed rotation length), or a more intensive system where rotation length varied with pasture growth rate. Unreplicated paddocks of volunteer pasture (dominated by onion grass and annual grass weeds) receiving an average of 8 kg P/ha.year were also monitored. All treatments were stocked with spring-lambing Merino ewes. Stocking rate was an emergent property of each treatment, and was driven by pasture quality and availability. Total pasture herbage accumulation ranged from 7150 to 9750 kg DM/ha.year and was significantly lower on the set-stocked, low-fertility treatment than on all other treatments. A significant treatment.day effect in the spline analysis of herbage mass was explained by a trend toward higher pasture mass in the rotationally grazed treatments than set-stocked treatments from the break of season until mid-spring. Rotational grazing led to significantly higher phalaris herbage accumulation than set stocking (mean 3680 v. 2120 kg DM/ha.year), but significantly lower subterranean clover herbage accumulation (1440 v. 2490 kg DM/ha.year). Despite the stronger growth of deep-rooted phalaris in the rotationally grazed treatments, maximum soil water deficits at the end of summer differed only slightly between treatments, with the difference between driest and wettest treatments amounting to only 14 mm. Summer growth of phalaris was apparently insufficient to generate significant differences in soil water extraction at depth, even when phalaris content was increased by rotational grazing, and re-wetting of the soil profile occurred at a similar rate for all treatments. Rotationally grazed treatments supported higher stocking rates than set-stocked treatments at high fertiliser rates (mean 14.9 v. 13.7 ewes/ha), but apparent losses in pasture feeding value due to lower legume content under rotational grazing meant that there were few significant differences between treatments in lamb production per hectare. The experiment showed that grazing method can have a substantial and rapid effect on pasture botanical composition. There are clear opportunities for producers to use temporal and spatial combinations of set stocking and rotational grazing to manipulate herbage mass and pasture composition within broad target ranges for achieving both animal production (e.g. high per-head animal performance) and sustainability (e.g. persistence of perennial grasses) objectives. Rigid application of either set stocking or rotational grazing imposes limitations on both pasture and animal production, and neither grazing method will optimise system performance under all conditions. The experiment also demonstrated that management and land-use changes that have much greater potential to increase water use than those examined here will be needed to ensure the sustainability of pasture systems in the high rainfall zone of western Victoria.


2005 ◽  
Vol 56 (12) ◽  
pp. 1373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Robertson ◽  
John A. Kirkegaard

The French and Shultz approach that relates seasonal rainfall to potential yield in wheat has yet to be applied to dryland canola. Relationships were derived between grain yield of 42 experimental crops (yield range 0.5–5.4 t/ha) free of weeds, pests, diseases, and nutrient deficiencies in southern New South Wales, and various measures of observed (rainfall, available soil water) and simulated (evapotranspiration) seasonal water supply. April to October rainfall and in-crop rainfall were the poorest predictors of yield (R2 < 0.5). By adjusting in-crop rainfall to account for stored soil water at sowing and that remaining at harvest (termed ‘seasonal water supply’), 68% of the variance in yield could be explained. Estimates derived using the APSIM-Canola simulation model or simulated totals of evapotranspiration or transpiration explained 73–82% of the variance. The slope of the regression line between yield of the 42 crops, which simulation indicated had all yielded to their water-limited potential, and seasonal water supply (termed here the water-use efficiency for grain production, WUE) was 11 kg/ha.mm above an intercept of 120 mm. WUE varied from 4 to 18 kg/ha.mm and the upper boundary for WUE in those seasons where rainfall distribution facilitated maximum efficiency was 15 kg/ha.mm. Long-term simulations, conducted at locations with mean annual rainfall of 430–660 mm, confirmed the variability of WUE due to rainfall distribution and also that WUE would be expected to decline, on average, by one-third between sowings in early April and early July. This necessitates caution in accepting a single WUE value as an indicator of agronomic constraints to yield. For the purposes of practical application by farmers and advisors, water-limited potential yield can be calculated in the region as a function of seasonal water supply minus 120 mm up to a limit of 450 mm, beyond which potential yield is not limited by water. Available soil water at sowing can be estimated from summer fallow rainfall above a threshold of 80 mm, and water remaining at harvest can be estimated from post-anthesis rainfall above a threshold of 50 mm. This improved method for estimating water-limited potential yield in canola retains the ease of use of the French and Shultz approach, so that other constraints to yield can be more accurately diagnosed in dryland environments by farmers and advisors.



2004 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 775 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. S. Dear ◽  
G. A. Sandral ◽  
J. M. Virgona ◽  
A. D. Swan

The effect of using 4 perennial grasses or lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) in the pasture phase on subsequent wheat grain yield, protein, and grain hardness was investigated at 2 sites (Kamarah and Junee) in the south-eastern Australian cereal belt. The 6 perennial treatments were 5 mixtures of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.), with one of lucerne, phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.), cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L), wallaby grass (Austrodanthonia richardsonii (Cashm.) H.P. Linder), or lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula (Schrader) Nees cv. Consol), or one mixture of cocksfoot, phalaris, and lucerne. The results were compared with wheat after one of 3 annual pastures consisting of either pure subterranean clover, subterranean clover with annual volunteer broadleaf and grass weeds, or yellow serradella (Ornithopus compressus L.). The duration of the pasture phase was 3 years at the drier Kamarah site (av. annual rainfall 430 mm) and 4 years at Junee (550 mm). The effect of time of removal of the pastures in the year prior to cropping (28 August–3 September or 6–7 November) and the effect of nitrogen (N) fertiliser application were also examined. In the absence of applied N, wheat grain yields at Kamarah were highest (4.7–4.9 t/ha) and grain protein lowest (10.3–11.1%) following phalaris, wallaby grass, and cocksfoot. Grain protein levels were highest (12.9–13.9%) in wheat following the 3 annual legume swards at both sites. Previous pasture type had no effect on wheat yields at the Junee site. Wheat grain protein and total N taken up by the crop were positively related to available soil N to 100 cm measured at sowing at both sites. Grain protein was inversely related to grain yield at both sites where additional N fertiliser was added, but not in the absence of fertiliser N. There was a positive response in grain protein to delayed time of pasture removal in second year wheat at Junee. The application of additional N fertiliser increased grain protein of wheat following all 9 pasture types at the drier Kamarah site, but at the Junee site there was only a positive grain protein response following phalaris, cocksfoot, and wallaby grass. Early removal of the pasture prior to cropping increased soil water (10–130 cm) at sowing by 18 mm, delayed wheat senescence, and increased crop yield by 11% (0.44 t/ha) at the drier Kamarah site. Early removal of the pasture at Junee increased soil water by 29 mm, crop yields by 2% (0.14 t/ha), and increased grain protein in wheat following cocksfoot, wallaby grass, and phalaris, but not following the 3 annual legume treatments. The study demonstrated that perennial grasses can be successfully incorporated into phased rotations with wheat without affecting grain yield, but protein levels may be lower and timing of pasture removal will be important to limit the effect of water deficits on grain yield.



2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (8) ◽  
pp. 945 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Sanford ◽  
B. R. Cullen ◽  
P. M. Dowling ◽  
D. F. Chapman ◽  
D. L. Garden ◽  
...  

The Sustainable Grazing Systems (SGS) National Experiment (NE) Pasture Theme explored factors that influenced annual herbage accumulation and perennial grass and legume content across the NE sites, in the high rainfall zone (HRZ, >600 mm/year annual rainfall) of southern Australia using multi-variate analysis and the SGS Pasture Model. Annual rainfall was a poor predictor of annual herbage accumulation. The length of growing season accounted for 30% of the variation in annual herbage accumulation. Much of the remaining 70% of variation in annual herbage accumulation was explained by soil Olsen P, the proportion of native species in the pasture and stocking rate, together with interactions among other factors including legume content. Simulated effects of set stocking and rotational grazing on herbage accumulation using the SGS Pasture Model, predicted that rotational grazing was unlikely to result in large increases in herbage accumulation. In contrast, it was predicted that the adoption of deep-rooted C3 and C4 perennial grasses could provide useful increases in herbage accumulation. Perennial grass content and basal cover were both significantly influenced by growing season length (P<0.001), grazing method (P<0.001) and an interaction between stocking rate and soil pH (P = 0.002). These analyses suggested that to maintain or improve the perennial grass component of a pasture at medium–high stocking rates, it was crucial to adopt grazing strategies that included rotation or resting. Perennial grass percent also significantly (P<0.001) increased in response to ameliorating the soil pH. Legume content of pastures significantly (P<0.001) increased in response to set stocking and increased stocking rate.To be botanically stable and productive, sown pastures based on perennial grasses in the HRZ of southern Australia will need to be grazed at high stocking rates (15–23 DSE/ha) in combination with rotational grazing or resting, and with adequate soil P. Additional gains in production and stability could be obtained by ensuring an adequate legume component, including a C4 perennial grass and ameliorating soil acidity. Pastures based on native perennial grasses may require lower soil P and more conservative stocking rates, depending on species.



Author(s):  
B.E. Allan

Continuous stocking was compared with intermittent (two paddock) and rotational (six paddock) grazing at low, medium and high stocking rates equivalent to 1.0x, 1.5x and 2.0x conventional rates for oversown tussock country (500 mm annual rainfall). 'By the sixth year liveweight gain/ha from Merino wether hoggets was improved 26% by intermittent and rotational grazing at medium stocking rates from that at conventional stocking rates. A strong interaction was demonstrated, with advantage in liveweight gain from intermittent and rotational grazing strengthening with increasing stocking rate. Total vegetative cover (75.8%) remained unchanged. Cocksfoot increased under low stocking while ryegrass increased under high stocking. A 60% overall loss in ryegrass during 1982 was attributed to unusually low winter soil temperatures. White clover cover was affected more b y climate than by grazing. A!!hough ?here *were interim differences, herbage production by the sixth year was similar for all treatments. Keywords: Tussock country, oversown, grazing, stocking rate, subdivision, pasture development, utilisation, Merino, liveweight.



1999 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. Johnston ◽  
C. A. Clifton ◽  
I. A. Cole ◽  
T. B. Koen ◽  
M. L. Mitchell ◽  
...  

This paper presents a case for the selection and development of a wider range of perennial grasses for pastoral use in the higher rainfall (annual rainfall >500 mm) zone of southern Australia, especially the southern sector of the Murray–Darling Basin. There is also a need to reconsider the use of ‘high-input’ pastures on hill lands by developing more appropriate recommendations for managing existing native grass pastures productively. Past experiments which compared native grass based pastures with sown pastures promoted the view that indigenous grasses were inferior in most respects to exotic improved species. Even though many of the findings were confounded with fertiliser, stocking rate, and other treatment effects, they reinforced the general direction of cultivar development programs which in the temperate zone have been based mainly on the 4 exotic C3 species Phalaris aquatica L., Dactylis glomerata L., Lolium L. spp., and Festuca elatior var. arundinacea (Schreb.) Hackel (syn. Festuca arundinacea Schreb). This has led to an imbalance in the adaptability and range of species available to be sown in pastures, particularly for sowing on less productive landscapes where stony, shallow, infertile, acid soils limit the persistence of current cultivars. The pre-European vegetation of temperate Australia comprised species with a capacity for active growth and transpiration during summer. The water use pattern resulted in soil moisture being near capacity in late winter and spring, and exhausted by summer’s end. Replacement of this vegetation with annual-growing and summer-dormant C3 species has changed the water use pattern so that soils are drier in spring and wetter in autumn. This has reduced the pre-winter soil moisture deficit, which in turn has increased rates of deep drainage in winter. Land degradation in southern Australia is a consequence of this changed water use pattern. Deep drainage of water beyond the reach of plant roots has mobilised salts stored in the landscape and caused watertables to rise, which has led to large areas becoming saline. Lack of growth in summer in pastures consisting of senescent annual-growing species and dormant C3 perennial grasses limits utilisation of the products of nitrogen mineralisation, which allows nitrate nitrogen to accumulate in summer and be readily leached by rainfall in autumn. This increases rates of soil acidification. Although there may be scope to reduce deep drainage by increasing pasture growth in spring in areas where there is little likelihood of summer rainfall, this is not the case in south-eastern Australia where significant falls of rain occur during summer and autumn.



2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 305 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Dolling

Rising water tables in southern Western Australia are causing waterlogging and salinity problems. These issues are related to a lower level of water use by annual plants than by the native vegetation. Phalaris can use more water than annual pastures and crops because of deeper rooting characteristics and longer growing season. However, there is limited information on the water use of phalaris in the Western Australian environment. There is also very little information on water balances under annual crops and pastures outside the growing season. A field experiment was carried out on a duplex soil between March 1994 and March 1999. Annual rainfall varied between 321 and 572 mm. The study examined soil water content, deep drainage, and productivity of phalaris-based pasture, continuous annual pasture, annual pasture–wheat rotation, and a wheat–lupin rotation. The results showed that the phalaris-based pasture after the establishment year was 25% (1.9 t dry matter/ha) more productive than continuous annual pasture, with the main difference occurring in late spring–early summer. The phalaris-based pasture used, on average, 45 mm/year more water and reduced drainage below 1 m by 44 mm/year compared with the annual pastures and crops. Total drainage below 1 m was 30 mm under the phalaris-based pasture and 74 mm under annual pasture. The greater water use in the phalaris-based pasture occurred in late spring and early summer. Although differences in total biomass per year occurred between wheat in different rotations there was no difference in the soil water storage prior to the break of the season. There was also no difference in the soil water balance between any of the annual crops and pastures. Differences in soil water storage did occur in some years in October but disappeared by May the following year.



2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 263 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Ridley ◽  
B. Christy ◽  
F. X. Dunin ◽  
P. J. Haines ◽  
K. F. Wilson ◽  
...  

Dryland salinity, caused largely by insufficient water use of annual crops and pastures, is increasing in southern Australia. A field experiment in north-eastern Victoria (average annual rainfall 600 mm) assessed the potential for lucerne grown in rotation with crops to reduce the losses of deep drainage compared with annual crops and pasture. Soil under lucerne could store 228 mm of water to 1.8 m depth. This compared with 84 mm under continuous crop (to 1.8 m depth), except in 1997–98 where crop dried soil by 162 mm. Between 1.8 and 3.25 m depth lucerne was able to create a soil water deficit of 78 mm. The extra water storage capacity was due to both the increased rooting depth and increased drying abiliy of lucerne within the root-zone of the annual species. Large drainage losses occurred under annuals in 1996 and small losses were calculated in 1997 and 1999, with no loss in 1998. Averaged over 1996–1999, drainage under annual crops was 49 mm/year (maximum 143 mm) and under annual pastures 35 mm/year (maximum 108 mm). When the extra soil water storage under lucerne was accounted for, no drainage was measured under this treatment in any year. Following 2 years of lucerne, drainage under subsequent crops could occur in the second crop. However, with 3 or 4 years of lucerne, 3–4 crops were grown before drainage loss was likely. Our calculations suggest that in this environment drainage losses are likely to occur under annual species in 55% of years compared with 6% of years under lucerne. In wet years water use of lucerne was higher than for crops due to lucerne’s ability to use summer rainfall and dry soil over the summer–autumn period. During the autumn–winter period crop water use was generally higher than under lucerne. The major period of increased soil water extraction under lucerne was from late spring to midsummer, with additional drying from deeper layers until autumn. Under both lucerne and crops, soil dried progressively from upper to lower soil layers. Short rotations of crops and lucerne currently offer the most practical promise for farmers in cropping areas in southern Australia to restore the water balance to a level which reduces the risk of secondary salinity.



HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 549f-550
Author(s):  
Mongi Zekri ◽  
Bruce Schaffer ◽  
Stephen K. O'Hair ◽  
Roberto Nunez-Elisea ◽  
Jonathan H. Crane

In southern Florida, most tropical fruit crops between Biscayne and Everglades National Parks are irrigated at rates and frequencies based on experience and observations of tree growth and fruit yield rather than on reliable quantitative information of actual water use. This approach suggests that irrigation rates may be excessive and could lead to leaching of agricultural chemicals into the groundwater in this environmentally sensitive area. Therefore, a study is being conducted to increase water use efficiency and optimize irrigation by accurately scheduling irrigation using a very effective management tool (EnviroScan, Sentek Environmental Innovations, Pty., Kent, Australia) that continuously monitors soil water content with highly accurate capacitance multi-sensor probes installed at several depths within the soil profile. The system measures crop water use by monitoring soil water depletion rates and allows the maintenance of soil water content within the optimum range (below field capacity and well above the onset of plant water stress). The study is being conducted in growers' orchards with three tropical fruit crops (avocado, carambola, and `Tahiti' lime) to facilitate rapid adoption and utilization of research results.



Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2791
Author(s):  
Pengyan Su ◽  
Mingjun Zhang ◽  
Deye Qu ◽  
Jiaxin Wang ◽  
Yu Zhang ◽  
...  

As a species for ecological restoration in northern China, Tamarix ramosissima plays an important role in river protection, flood control, regional climate regulation, and landscape construction with vegetation. Two sampling sites were selected in the hillside and floodplain habitats along the Lanzhou City, and the xylems of T. ramosissima and potential water sources were collected, respectively. The Bayesian mixture model (MixSIAR) and soil water excess (SW-excess) were applied to analyze the relationship on different water pools and the utilization ratios of T. ramosissima to potential water sources in two habitats. The results showed that the slope and intercept of local meteoric water line (LMWL) in two habitats were smaller compared with the global meteoric water line (GMWL), which indicated the existence of drier climate and strong evaporation in the study area, especially in the hillside habitat. Except for the three months in hillside, the SW-excess of T. ramosissima were negative, which indicated that xylems of T. ramosissima are more depleted in δ2H than the soil water line. In growing seasons, the main water source in hillside habitat was deep soil water (80~150 cm) and the utilization ratio was 63 ± 17% for T. ramosissima, while the main water source in floodplain habitat was shallow soil water (0~30 cm), with a utilization ratio of 42.6 ± 19.2%, and the water sources were different in diverse months. T. ramosissima has a certain adaptation mechanism and water-use strategies in two habitats, and also an altered water uptake pattern in acquiring the more stable water. This study will provide a theoretical basis for plant water management in ecological environment protection in the Loess Plateau.



1984 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Goss ◽  
K. R. Howse ◽  
Judith M. Vaughan-Williams ◽  
M. A. Ward ◽  
W. Jenkins

SummaryIn each of the years from September 1977 to July 1982 winter wheat was grown on one or more of three clay soil sites (clay content 35–55%) in Oxfordshire where the climate is close to the average for the area of England growing winter cereals.The effects on crop water use of different soil management practices, including ploughing, direct drilling and subsoil drainage, are compared. Cultivation treatment had little effect on the maximum depth of water extraction, which on average in these clay soils was 1·54 m below the soil surface. Maximum soil water deficit was also little affected by cultivation; the maximum recorded value was 186±7·6 mm. Subsoil drainage increased the maximum depth of water extraction by approximately 15 cm and the maximum soil water deficit by about 17 mm.Generally soil management had little effect on either total water use by the crop which was found to be close to the potential evaporation estimated by the method of Penman, or water use efficiency which for these crops was about 52 kg/ha par mm water used.Results are discussed in relation to limitations to potential yield.



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