Factors affecting the productivity of irrigated annual pastures. 1. Time of first irrigation in late summer-early autumn

1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 297 ◽  
Author(s):  
CR Stockdale

The influence of time of first irrigation (mid-February, early March, or late March) on the productivity of an annual pasture was studied for 3 years in northern Victoria. Beginning the irrigation of annual pastures in late summer instead of at the normal time of late March- April provided additional herbage in autumn and winter and did not adversely affect herbage production in late winter-early spring; up to 2.3 t/ha DM of additional herbage was obtained by mid June and 4.3 t/ha DM over the whole season. Earlier irrigation also increased the subterranean clover content of the pasture, resulting in herbage that was lower in digestibility and higher in nitrogen content than that in the other treatments. The benefit of early irrigation in increasing clover content may be offset by invasion by weeds. In this experiment, a potential weed problem in the earliest irrigation treatment appeared at the beginning of year 3.

1980 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 499 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Sinclair

Water potential and stomatal conductance were measured for three eucalypt species: Eucalyptus obliqua L'Hérit., E. fasciculosa F. Muell. and E. leucoxylon F. Muell. Field sites were located in the Mt Lofty Ranges, S.A., near the lower altitudinal limits of the E. obliqua population, where this species begins to be replaced by one or other of the other two. Pairs of trees, one pair of each species, were selected at each site growing within a few metres of each other. Measurements were made in late winter 1977 and during the unusually dry summer of 1977-78. In late winter E. obliqua and E. fasciculosa results were similar. Both had dawn water potential maxima of approximately -0.4 MPa, and stomatal conductance was high throughout the day. By mid summer E. obliqua was suffering water stress. Dawn water potential maxima of -1.93 and -4.35 MPa were measured, and stomatal conductance was low, but not zero, throughout the day. Adjacent E. fasciculosa showed few signs of stress; dawn maximum water potential was -0.7 MPa, and stornatal conductances were high. By late summer both water potentials and stornatal conductances of E. obliqua were much lower than those of adjacent trees of either of the other two species. The significance of these differences is discussed in relation to factors affecting eucalypt distribution patterns.


1973 ◽  
Vol 13 (60) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
AA McGowan ◽  
WA Williams

Subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) was sown with barley (Hordeum vulgare) in autumn under a variety of management treatments. Clover seed production was increased when barley emergence was delayed by seed treatment with CCC or paraffin wax, or by delayed sowing, when barley seeding rates were reduced, or when barley was clipped in late winter. The main factor limiting growth of the undersown clover was competition for light, especially in late winter and early spring when light transmission through the barley crop dropped below 60 per cent. Despite a dry spring, interspecific competition for moisture evidently imposed very little restriction on clover growth and seed production. Competition for nitrogen may have occurred earlier in the season.


1968 ◽  
Vol 8 (35) ◽  
pp. 702 ◽  
Author(s):  
DF Smith

Mixed swards of barley grass (Hordeum leporinum) and subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) of two densities were grown at two levels of nitrogen. Growth was started at two different times mid- April and mid-May-and at each time half the plots were subjected to moisture stress. The swards were harvested after nine weeks of growth. The survival of clover plants was reduced by an early start, moisture stress and nitrogen addition : much more so than barley grass. The root : shoot ratios of both species were calculated ; both showed some sensitivity to the time of break and moisture stress, and the grass was also affected by the other two factors. Total sward production and the ratios of clover to grass varied widely Grass daminance was favoured by moisture stress or a late break, and both of these factors tended to override the effect of higher soil nitrogen in determining clover-grass balance. Total sward production more dependent on density than any other factor, especially with the later start. Higher nitrogen was effective in boosting production only if the break was early and there was no moisture stress.


1967 ◽  
Vol 7 (24) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
GB Taylor ◽  
RC Rossiter

Seed production and persistence of the Carnamah, Northam A, Dwalganup, and Geraldton strains of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) were examined in undefoliated swards in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. The early flowering characteristic of Carnamah was not always associated with higher seed yields. Only when there was a well-defined, early finish to the growing season, or when flowering was very much earlier in Carnamah (viz., following an early 'break' to the season), did this strain clearly outyield both Northam A and Geraldton. The seed yield of Dwalganup was generally inferior to that of the other strains. Factors affecting regeneration are discussed. Under low rainfall conditions, poorer germination-regulation of Carnamah, compared with Geraldton and Northam A, would be expected to result in poorer persistence unless offset by higher seed yields in the Carnamah strain.


1962 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 193 ◽  
Author(s):  
RL Hughes

Thirty-five female Tasmanian rat-kangaroos, Potorous tridmtylus (Kerr), were studied. This marsupial is both polyoestrous and monovular. The length of the oestrous cycle is approximately 42 days (range 39-44 days). Study of vaginal smears over intervals that included 14 oestrous periods revealed that the proportions of cornified cells reached a maximum of over 80% at oestrus, and conversely the other cell types (i.e. nucleated epithelial cells and polymorphonuclear leucocytes) were at minimal concentrations. In four females copulation was apparently permitted at any time during the period of rapid increase in the proportion of cornified cells. One female repeatedly received a male over a 12-day heat period. Copulations were brief and were observed only between 4.00 p.m. and 1.45 a.m. In two females coitus was found to precede ovulation. The gestation period (defined as the interval between copulation and parturition) varied between 30 and 43 days in four animals. In one instance parturition was witnessed 37.5 days after copulations that were restricted to a 12-hr period. A marked increase in pouch vascularity occurred a few hours prior to parturition. Parturition was witnessed on one occasion and is described. The time taken to reach the pouch was 10 min; attachment was made in a further 12 min. On another occasion a neonatus removed from a teat shortly after parturition took 5 min to locate the teat and a further 15 min to complete reattachment. Permanent attachment of the offspring to a teat occupied 64 days in one instanc; in another it lasted 46 days but as the offspring died 6 days later it may be that the teat was vacated prematurely. The manner in which permanent nipple attachment is achieved is discussed and a description of the development of external features of pouch young is given. Nipples increased in both length and diameter during the first 115 days of suckling, after which regresslon began. The regresslon was correlated wlth the process of weanlng. An indication of three successive lactations was obtained from nipple dimensions. Pregnancy (occupying about 38 days) did not prevent oestrus from appearing at the normal time (i.e. approximately 42 days after the preceding oestrus). Mating occurred at the post-partum oestrus but lactation inhibited further oestrous cycles as well as delaying the development of the resultant uterine embryo. The period of delayed pregnancy can be as long as 4+ months. During most of this period the embryo remained free in the uterus as a dormant blastocyst, diameter 0.25-0.28 mm. Embryonic development was resumed during the weaning period when suckling was intermittent and diminishing or when the offspring was prematurely lost. Observations on both captive and wild populations suggested the existence of two breeding seasons, one in late winter and early spring, the other in summer. However, the evidence on which these breeding seasons are based is extremely limited. Reproduction in Potorous is compared with that in other marsupial species.


1970 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-298
Author(s):  
A. C. Rowland

SUMMARYThe seasonal incidence of rumen and liver lesions is recorded in traditional and in intensively managed cattle, together with the vitamin A status of the two groups. Rumen lesions were observed to reach a peak in the late winter and early spring in traditional cattle, at which time the liver vitamin A levels fell to the lowest point; liver lesions reached a peak in the late summer. No specific trend was observable in rumen and liver lesions in the barley beef group. The mean levels of vitamin A were approximately one-third of those shown by the traditionally managed animals.It did not prove possible using the agglutination test to identify the sera of animals showing active hepatic necrobacillosis at the time of slaughter.


1995 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 617 ◽  
Author(s):  
SH Hooker ◽  
RG Creese

An examination of the reproductive condition of a population of paua, H. iris, at Leigh in north-eastern New Zealand during 1986-87 revealed a long breeding season extending from late summer through autumn and winter and into early spring. Within this period, a sharp decrease of over 60% in the gonad index for both males and females indicated major spawning events in July and October. A smaller decrease in the gonad index in March suggested a third, minor spawning. These spawning events were confirmed by regular examination of histological sections of gonadal material. This breeding pattern is different from that previously described for southern localities in New Zealand, where spawning activity is limited to a four-month period from late summer into autumn. Paua in this northern population had a sex ratio slightly biased towards males (1 female to every 1.3 males) and achieved reproductive maturity between the sizes of 48 and 60 mm shell length. These features are also different from those described for southern populations of H. iris. These findings highlight the need to take regional differences in reproductive pattern into account when describing the population dynamics of marine gastropods.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (18) ◽  
pp. 9903-9916 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. D. Chambers ◽  
S.-B. Hong ◽  
A. G. Williams ◽  
J. Crawford ◽  
A. D. Griffiths ◽  
...  

Abstract. We report on one year of high-precision direct hourly radon observations at King Sejong Station (King George Island) beginning in February 2013. Findings are compared with historic and ongoing radon measurements from other Antarctic sites. Monthly median concentrations reduced from 72 mBq m−3 in late-summer to 44 mBq m−3 in late winter and early spring. Monthly 10th percentiles, ranging from 29 to 49 mBq m−3, were typical of oceanic baseline values. Diurnal cycles were rarely evident and local influences were minor, consistent with regional radon flux estimates one tenth of the global average for ice-free land. The predominant fetch region for terrestrially influenced air masses was South America (47–53° S), with minor influences also attributed to aged Australian air masses and local sources. Plume dilution factors of 2.8–4.0 were estimated for the most terrestrially influenced (South American) air masses, and a seasonal cycle in terrestrial influence on tropospheric air descending at the pole was identified and characterised.


2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 579 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. E. Elliott ◽  
R. J. Abbott

Two series of experiments were conducted in the Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia, to examine, in a grass–subterranean clover pasture, the contribution of the companion grass to herbage mass and the responsiveness to the application of nitrogen (N) fertiliser. The first study examined the responsiveness, to a single rate of N, of grass–clover pastures containing either Tama ryegrass, sod-sown oats or 1 of 4 perennial grasses, viz. Victorian perennial ryegrass, Demeter fescue, Currie cocksfoot or Australian phalaris. These were compared in 2 experiments, under 3��different cutting frequencies at 3 periods during the growing season. In the other study, consisting of 12�experiments, the response to increasing rate of N fertiliser application of sod-sown oats or the existing pasture were compared over a 3-month period following N fertiliser application in autumn.In autumn and winter, all pastures responded significantly to N fertiliser, whereas in spring, the proportion of clover in each pasture and its growth determined whether or not there was a response to N fertiliser. Clover composition of pastures declined with N application, but clover was not eliminated from swards by application of 210 kg N/ha a year. In both series of experiments, pastures that established well with a high density of sod-sown oats out-yielded all other pastures in autumn and winter, whether the swards were unfertilised or received regular N fertiliser applications. In late winter, pastures sod-sown with Tama ryegrass yielded as well as the pasture sod-sown with oats, and enhanced spring growth significantly compared with perennial ryegrass. However, spring production of Tama ryegrass was poorer than that of perennial ryegrass, and overall no increase in annual production occurred. Of the perennial grasses, the highest yielding when N fertiliser was applied were Currie cocksfoot and perennial ryegrass (yielding in autumn), phalaris (winter), and perennial ryegrass and Demeter fescue (spring). Increased cutting frequency depressed the herbage mass response to N fertiliser following the initial application, but increased herbage N concentration of all pastures and also increased the final clover composition of N-fertilised pasture of 4�pasture types.


MAUSAM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-278
Author(s):  
A.L. KOPPAR ◽  
S.C. NAGRATH

Ozone soundings made from Dakshin Gangotri, Antarctica during 1987 are presented. The vertical distribution of ozone over Antarctica is characterised by a double peak profile, one around 200-150 hPa and the other around 50 hPa. During late winter-early spring the upper peak is considerably depleted. Tropospheric ozoe remains low and nearly constant throughout the year.  


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