Comparison of Brazilian and naturalised Australian ecotypes of Stylosanthes humilis in the dry tropics of Queensland

1975 ◽  
Vol 15 (72) ◽  
pp. 80 ◽  
Author(s):  
LA Edye ◽  
DF Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Dry Matter ◽  
Growth Habit ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Pod Yield ◽  
Dry Tropics ◽  
Stylosanthes Humilis

Nine Stylosanthes humilis introductions from Brazil were compared with four Australian ecotypes and two mixtures when grown in swards with a grass Urochloa mosambicensis at two sites in the dry tropics of Queensland with an average growing season of 22 weeks per annum. The swards were harvested at 6-weekly intervals during the growing season at a height of 7.6 cm. Over the three years of the trial, no introduction was superior to cv. Gordon in dry matter and pod yield at the two sites. The Brazilian introductions showed variation in flowering times and growth habit. In general the later flowering, erect types were more productive because they made better growth late in the season, still set seed and competed better with sown grass. The naturalised Australian material gave higher pod yields but lower in vitro digestibilities during the dry season than the Brazilian introductions.

The influence of weather on the quality of tropical legume pasture during the dry season in northern Australia. III. Effects of digestibility and chemical composition

1989 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 573 ◽  
Author(s):  
RL McCown ◽  
BH Wall
Keyword(s):  
Dry Matter ◽  
Mediterranean Climate ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
In Vitro Digestibility ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Pasture Legumes ◽  
Dry Matter Digestibility ◽  
Dry Tropics

In the semi-arid tropics, accumulated shed leaf of certain pasture legumes can provide highly nutritious feed for cattle in the dry season. Previous papers in this series have dealt with the fungal spoilage of leaf of Caribbean stylo in response to dew and unseasonal rainfall and the threat to acceptability by cattle. This paper focuses on the effects of varying degrees of moulding and leaching on dry matter digestibility of leaf of this legume. Uniform leaf material of high digestibility was exposed at six locations during the dry season and samples retrieved at 4-weekly intervals. From initial values of 75%. in vitro digestibility dropped to as low as 50%. Degree of moulding, as indicated by a quantitative index of discoloration, accounted for about 80�/o of loss. Moulding was much more important than leaching. This latter finding in the winter-dry tropics contrasts with previous findings in the summer-dry Mediterranean climate.

Rapid changes in simple mixtures of Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) lines differing in flowering time and growth habit

1977 ◽  
Vol 17 (84) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
DF Cameron ◽  
RL McCown
Keyword(s):  
Dry Matter ◽  
Growth Habit ◽  
High Rainfall ◽  
Pod Yield ◽  
Stylosanthes Humilis ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
Cutting Frequency ◽  
Townsville Stylo ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Frequency Changes

The ecological adaptation of Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) lines was studied by following changes in the composition of mixtures of the lines. At Weipa, a high rainfall site in north Queensland, the composition of a mixture of four maturity types changed rapidly in favour of the later flowering lines, and the earliest line was almost eliminated by the end of the second year. In binary mixtures at 'Lansdown' near Townsville, defoliation every six weeks favoured erect lines but the proportion of prostrate lines was almost doubled at the three week cutting frequency. Changes in mixture composition could not be related to the dry matter yield or pod yield of the monocultures at either site. The capacity of late flowering lines to increase rapidly in populations growing in high rainfall areas, as demonstrated at the Weipa site, could pose problems for the commercial seed production of earlier flowering lines in such areas.

Comparison of some Stylosanthes species in the dry tropics of Queensland

1975 ◽  
Vol 15 (76) ◽  
pp. 655 ◽  
Author(s):  
LA Edye ◽  
JB Field ◽  
DF Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Interspecific Hybrids ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
The Other ◽  
In Vitro Digestibility ◽  
Dry Matter Yield ◽  
Seedling Regeneration ◽  
Dry Tropics

Fifteen accessions, comprising Stylosanthes guyanensis (1 ), ., hamata (5), S. humilis (2), S. subsericea (5) and interspecific hybrids (2), were compared when grown in swards with the grass Urochloa mosambicensis at three sites in the dry tropics of Queensland with an average growing season ranging from 11.5 to 22.0 weeks per annum. The swards were harvested at 6-weekly intervals during the growing season at a height of 7.6 cm. Over the three years of the trial, S. hamata CPI 38842 (cv. Verano) was superior in dry matter yield over all sites to the other accessions, including the two S. humilis cultivars cv. Paterson and cv. Lawson. Nodulation problems prevented an adequate comparison of four other S, hamata accessions except at 'Fanning River', where CPI 40264A and 40268 nodulated effectively and were as productive as cv. Verano. All S. hamata accessions perennated but gave lower pod yields and seedling regeneration than S. humilis cultivars. In vitro digestibility of the S. hamata accessions was lower than S. humilis in May but higher in September. Although S. subsericea accessions nodulated readily at all sites, their performance was site-sensitive and all but one accession failed to perennate.

Flowering time and the natural distribution and dry matter production of Townsville lucerne (Stylosanthes humilis) populations

1967 ◽  
Vol 7 (29) ◽  
pp. 501 ◽  
Author(s):  
DF Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Flowering Time ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Growth Habit ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Late Flowering ◽  
Matter Production ◽  
Northern Areas ◽  
Stylosanthes Humilis ◽  
Significant Yield

The flowering times of 58 collections of Townsville lucerne from typical sites in northern Australia have been recorded in three spaced plant experiments near Townsville. Thirty-six collections were grown in 1963-64, 15 in 1964-65, and 17 in 1965-66. All the late flowering collections came from sites receiving at least 45 inches annual rainfall. The five collections from south of Rockhampton were all of the early or midseason type and all collections from the far northern areas were late flowering. Partial regression analysis was used to relate the flowering time of a collection to the rainfall (for the five months interval from January to May) and latitude of the collection site. In the first two experiments rainfall, latitude and (latitude)2 all contributed significantly to the regressions, but in the third experiment only rainfall was significant. Correlation coefficients for 1963-64, 1964-65, and 1965-66 were +0.83, +0.97, and +0.93 respectively. A selection was derived from a collection by bulking seed from single spaced plants selected for uniform flowering time and growth habit. The dry matter yields of some collections and selections were compared in two sward experiments near Townsville in 1964-65 and 1965-66. In 1964-65 there were significant yield differences between collections (experiment A, P<0.01) and between selections (experiment B, P<0.001). There were differences in the rates of vegetative growth and differences in the length of growing season, with late flowering types being able to make better growth late in the season when early types were flowering and seeding. Types with erect growth habit had the highest yields and seemed to compete better with sown grasses than the prostrate types. There were no significant yield differences in 1965-66, a very dry year, and the late flowering types failed to set seed.

Effect of time of sowing on flowering and growth of Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis)

1974 ◽  
Vol 14 (67) ◽  
pp. 182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mannetje L t ◽  
KHLvan Bennekom
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperatures ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Sowing Date ◽  
Stylosanthes Humilis ◽  
Maturity Type ◽  
Townsville Stylo ◽  
Late Start ◽  
Spring Sowing

A midseason maturity type of Townsville stylo sown at monthly intervals throughout a year in a glasshouse in Brisbane (27�30' south) started flowering from 42 to 76 days after sowing between February and September, with dry matter yields at flowering ranging from 0.05 to 5.82 g/per plant. Sowings between October and January resulted in flowering after 98 to 157 days, with yields ranging from 26.41 to 54.75 g/per plant. Flowering was mainly determined by daylength, although low temperatures during winter delayed inflorescence elongation. Growth after onset of flowering was measured in plants sown in winter, spring and late summer. Plant weights increased after flowering in all sowings. In the spring sowing this consisted entirely of stem and inflorescence, but in the other sowings leaf was formed after onset of flowering as well. Winter and spring sowings gave the highest, late summer sowing the lowest final yields. The main agronomic implication is that sowing early in the growing season is necessary for obtaining a good first year's yield, but that seed production is little affected by sowing date, ensuring good regeneration even in years with a late start of the growing season.

Effect of times, height and frequency of defoliation on growth and development of Townsville stylo in pure ungrazed swards at Katherine, N.T

1973 ◽  
Vol 13 (63) ◽  
pp. 389 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Growth And Development ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Pod Yield ◽  
Matter Production ◽  
Stylosanthes Humilis ◽  
Townsville Stylo ◽  
One Year ◽  
Complete Fertilizer ◽  
Cutting Height

A one-year experiment was done in the field at Katherine, Northern Territory, to determine the influence of defoliation at different times (January, February, and March) and heights (5, 13 and 20 cm) on the growth and development of Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) in ungrazed swards grown with complete fertilizer and irrigation. Townsville stylo withstood repeated defoliation at 5 cm provided that cutting started in January, but, when the first defoliation was delayed, single cuts at 5 cm in either February or March killed 82 and 53 per cent of the swards. Defoliation to 5 cm early in the season reduced total cumulative yield by less than 450 kg ha-1, and did not affect pod yield or nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations at the end of the growing season. Immediately after defoliation nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were reduced, but there was rapid recovery to higher levels with 5-cm and the same levels with 13-cm defoliation. Successive defoliation at 4 3 cm in February and March increased yield of pods. Defoliation at both 5 and 13 cm increased relative growth rate compared with the control and less frequently defoliated treatments. Defoliation to 5 cm each four weeks altered the stand morphology to a dense mat of foliage at cutting height. The ability of Townsville stylo to withstand continued defoliation suggests that sustained grazing during the growing season may be successful in controlling grass weeds vulnerable to grazing without greatly reducing pod yield or total dry matter production of Townsville stylo.

Influence of pasture type and supplement on fertility and liveweight of cows, and progeny growth rate in the dry tropics of northern Queensland

1983 ◽  
Vol 23 (120) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
RG Holroyd ◽  
PK O'Rourke ◽  
MR Clarke ◽  
ID Loxton
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Calf Growth ◽  
Dry Tropics ◽  
Stylosanthes Humilis ◽  
Native Pasture ◽  
One Year

The reproductive performance of cows and growth rate of their calves to weaning was examined over a four-year period (1973-1977). Cows grazed either native pasture stocked at 1cowl4 ha, or native pasture oversown with Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) and fertilized with superphosphate stocked at 1 cow/2 ha. Animals were supplemented on each pasture type with urea-molasses in the dry season, phosphorus all year round plus urea-molasses in the dry season, or were unsupplemented. Mating was for three months from mid-January. Calving began towards the end of the dry season and cows lactated through the following wet season. Cows grazing fertilized legume pasture had significantly higher conception rates and earlier calving dates in one year only. In all years, foetal and calf losses between pregnancy diagnosis and weaning were lower on native pasture than on fertilized legume pasture. Cows grazing fertilized legume pasture were generally in better body condition and heavier throughout and their calves grew faster to weaning than on native pasture. Fertilized legume pasture produced a 2.4 fold increase over that of native pasture in cow and calf liveweight per unit area (382.7 kg/ha vs 159.8 kg/ha) over the four years. Supplementation did not influence liveweight or reproductive performance of cows or calf growth rate except during the final dry season when non-supplemented cows lost significantly more weight than those supplemented with phosphorus and urea.

Chemical composition, dry matter and crude protein digestibilities of some tropical browse plants estimated in vitro

1998 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 297-299
Author(s):  
C. M. Shayo ◽  
P. Udén
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Phenolic Compounds ◽  
Crude Protein ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Regression Line ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Important Food ◽  
True Digestibility ◽  
The Tropics

Browse plants are generally regarded as important food resources for ruminants in the tropics due to their high levels of nitrogen. Particularly during the dry season livestock eat browse which may contain considerable amounts of phenolic compounds including tannins at levels of up to half of the dry matter (Reed, 1986). Tannins are known to react with proteins to form rumen undegradable or totally indigestible complexes.A uniform food fraction is assumed to have the same true digestibility irrespective of source and level in the food. In the test of uniformity developed by Lucas (1964) and applied by Van Soest (1967) the digestible fraction per unit food is regressed upon its concentration in the food. The slope of the line gives its true digestibility, the intercept, the potential metabolic fraction and the variation around the regression line explains the extent of uniformity of the fraction.

Effect of pasture type and supplementary feeding on the reproductive performance of cattle in the dry tropics of north Queensland

1977 ◽  
Vol 17 (85) ◽  
pp. 197 ◽  
Author(s):  
RG Holroyd ◽  
PJ Allan ◽  
PK O'Rourke
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Conception Rate ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Lactating Cows ◽  
Dry Tropics ◽  
Stylosanthes Humilis ◽  
Native Pasture ◽  
Conception Rates ◽  
Townsville Stylo

A study was made over a four year period ( 1970-1 973) on the reproductive performance of cows grazing either native pasture stocked at 1 breeder 4.9 ha-1 or native pasture oversown with Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) and fertilized with superphosphate, stocked at 1 breeder 2.4 ha-1. Animals were supplemented on each pasture type with combinations of molasses, urea and phosphorus at various times of the year. Mating from September 1 to January 31 resulted in animals lactating during the dry season. At double the stocking rate, lactating cows on fertilized pastures had similar conception rates to those on native pasture. During a prolonged dry season, lactating cows on fertilized pasture had twice the conception rate and fewer required survival feeding. Urea compared with non-urea based supplements produced significant increases in conception rates of cows grazing native pasture especially during a dry year. Calves were born earlier, had shorter intercalving intervals and fewer cows had to be fed a survival ration when urea was available. On fertilized pasture, urea based supplements caused only a marginal increase in conception rate except in a dry year, when there was a significant increase. Over the four years, there was a diminishing response in the conception rate of lactating cows grazing native pasture and supplemented with phosphorus during the wet season compared with the control. On fertilized pasture, there was a variable but non-significant response. The addition of phosphorus either as a wet or dry season supplement to urea caused variable responses on each pasture type, but none differed significantly from that of urea.

The effect of a phosphorus supplement on the performance of steers grazing Townsville stylo-based pasture in north Queensland

1977 ◽  
Vol 17 (86) ◽  
pp. 357 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Winks ◽  
FC Lamberth ◽  
PK O'Rourke
Keyword(s):  
Dry Season ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Dry Tropics ◽  
Stylosanthes Humilis ◽  
Native Pasture ◽  
Weight Gains ◽  
Annual Grasses ◽  
Townsville Stylo

The effect of phosphorus supplementation on the performance of steeres grazing unfertilized native pasture and Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) with andwithout superphosphate fertilizer on the subcoastal spear grass region of the dry tropics of north Queensland was studied over a period of 40 months. Liveweight gains in the absence of supplementation on fertilized Townsville stylo pastures were greater than on unfertilized Townsville stylo, where performance was similar to that recorded on untreated native pasture. Phosphorus supplementation increased weight gains during the wet season on both unfertilized Townsville stylo and native pasture but had no significant effect on dry season performance or performance on fertilized Townsville stylo. Fertilized areas became dominated by annual grasses, Digitaria ciliaris and Brachiaria milliiformis, and legume yields were higher on unfertilized than on fertilized areas. Fertilizer improved the quality of available pastures.

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