Comparison of the phosphate requirements of burr medic and yellow serradella with that of wheat in the low rainfall wheatbelt of Western Australia

1993 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 145 ◽  
Author(s):  
BH Paynter ◽  
MDA Bolland

The responses of burr medic (Medicago polymorpha) and yellow serradella (Ornithopus compressus) to topdressed phosphate were compared with the response of wheat (Triticum aestivum) to drilled phosphate on a range of soils in the low rainfall wheatbelt of Western Australia. Species were compared firstly on the amount of applied phosphorus (P) required for 90% maximum yield at 3 harvests, and secondly on the ratio of their curvature coefficients from the Mitscherlich relationship between absolute yield and P applied. On 7 marginally acidic, medium-textured soils, the comparative requirements of burr medic (cvv. Serena or Santiago) and wheat (cv. Gutha) for applied P changed with harvest. At harvest 1 152-55 days after sowing (DAS)], burr medic generally had a larger curvature coefficient and required less applied P for 90% maximum yield than wheat. At harvest 2 (107-111 DAS) and for harvest 3 (seed yields), the curvature coefficients for burr medic were smaller than those for wheat, and burr medic generally required more applied P at 90% maximum yield. The average P requirement at 90% maximum yield of burr medic was 14 kg P/ha at harvest 1, 22 kg P/ha at harvest 2, and 19 kg P/ha for seed production. The average P requirement of wheat was 28 kg P/ha at harvest 1,11 kg P/ha at harvest 2, and 15 kg P/ha for seed production. On 3 acidic, light-textured soils, yellow serradella (cv. Madeira) generally had a lower requirement for applied P at 90% maximum yield, and a larger curvature coefficient, than wheat (cv. Gutha) at all harvests in each experiment. The requirements of yellow serradella and wheat also varied between harvests. The average P requirement at 90% maximum yield of yellow serradella was 16 kg P/ha at harvest 1 (52-55 DAS), 21 kg P/ha at harvest 2 (105-110 DAS), and close to 26 kg P/ha for seed production. The average P requirement of wheat was 29 kg P/ha at harvest 1,25 kg P/ha at harvest 2, and >33 kg P/ha for seed production. In most experiments burr medic had a larger absolute response to applied P at harvests 1 and 2 and a lower absolute response for seed production than wheat. Yellow serradella had a smaller absolute yield response to applied P than wheat over all 3 harvests. When converted to a percentage of maximum yield, burr medic and yellow serradella had a lower percentage response to applied P at harvest 1, and a higher percentage response at harvest 2 and for seed production than wheat.


1992 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1077 ◽  
Author(s):  
BH Paynter

Burr medic (Medicago polymorpha) and yellow serradella (Ornithopus compressus) were compared with subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) in their response to freshly topdressed phosphate in the low rainfall wheatbelt of Western Australia. Species were compared on the amount of applied phosphorus (P) required for 90% maximum yield and the ratio of their curvature coefficients from the Mitscherlich relationship between P applied and absolute yield. On marginally acidic, medium-textured soils, burr medic had a higher external shoot requirement for applied P than subterranean clover. Relative differences between the species were affected by season, initial concentration of bicarbonate-extractable P in the soil (0-10 cm), and timing of plant harvest during the growing season. Burr medic generally achieved a higher absolute maximum yield at each harvest, a larger absolute yield response, and a larger percentage response to applied P than subterranean clover. There was no difference between burr medic and subterranean clover with respect to the internal efficiency of P use for shoot production. For seed production, the external requirements of burr medic and subterranean clover for applied P were similar according to the criterion of P required at 90% maximum yield, but burr medic had a higher requirement if curvature coefficient was the criterion for comparison. Burr medic also had a higher internal efficiency of P use for seed production than subterranean clover. On an acidic, light-textured soil, yellow serradella had a lower requirement for applied P than subterranean clover, according to both criteria for all harvests in 2 separate years.



1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 811 ◽  
Author(s):  
MDA Bolland ◽  
M Baker

A field experiment at Medina, Western Australia, was designed to test whether seed produced at different locations and containing different phosphorus (P) concentration in the seed would change the relationship between yield and the level of superphosphate drilled with the seed. To produce the seed for the experiment, subsamples of the same source of seed of yellow serradella (Ornithopus compressus cv. Madeira) were grown at Medina and Esperance, Western Australia. Seed of the same size produced at each location, and containing 3 different P concentrations, was sown in the experiment at Medina. Three levels of superphosphate were drilled with the seed. Yields (of dried herbage and seed) were increased 2- to 4-fold as the amount of P drilled with the seed was increased from 5 to 40 kg P/ha. Although the Medina seed contained >0.40% P and the Esperance seed contained <0.40% P, plants grown from Esperance seed produced larger yields than plants grown from Medina seed for each of the 3 levels of P drilled with the seed; yield difference increased from about 14 to 70% as the level of P drilled with the seed increased from 5 to 40 kg P/ha. Higher P concentration in the sown seed increased herbage and seed yields by 35-70% when 5 kg P/ha superphosphate was drilled with the seed, and by about 616% when 40 kg P/ha was P drilled with the seed. Seed grown at Esperance produced larger yields for each seed P concentration than Medina seed; yield differences were about 30-90%. The P concentration measured in dried herbage and seed depended only on the amount of P drilled with the seed. It was unaffected by the P concentration in the seed sown, and for dried herbage, it was unaffected by where the seed sown was produced. However, for seed production, the relationship between yield and P concentration in the seed differed depending on where the seed was grown.



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.



2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 397 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. French ◽  
M. Seymour ◽  
R. S. Malik

In 24 experiments conducted across a range of agricultural environments in Western Australia between 2010 and 2014 canola (Brassica napus L.) grain yield response to crop density was adequately described by an asymptotic model (where yield approaches but never quite reaches a ceiling at very high density) in 101 out of 112 individual responses; in the other 11 yield reached a maximum and declined slightly at higher densities. Seed oil was more likely to increase than decrease with increasing density but the effect was always small; less than 1% oil over the range of densities tested. Increasing density also suppressed annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum (L.) Gaud.) head numbers in six experiments where it was measured, especially at densities below 20 plants/m². Economic optimum densities ranged from 7 to 180 plants/m², with a median of 32.2. Mean optima in low and medium rainfall zones (growing season rainfall <300 mm) were about 25, 30, and 75 plants/m² respectively for glyphosate-tolerant (Roundup Ready), hybrid triazine-tolerant (TT), and open-pollinated TT cultivars, assuming open-pollinated TT cultivars were grown from farm-saved seed. There was little difference between optimum densities for hybrid and open-pollinated glyphosate-tolerant cultivars, and optima in the high rainfall zone were about 10 plants/m² higher than in low and medium rainfall zones. Yield at optimum density was greater than 90% of maximum yield in 74% of cases. The economic penalty for not achieving the optimum density with hybrids was usually small if the deviation was less than 10 plants/m², and with open-pollinated TT cultivars was small even 50-60 plants/m² below the optimum. The penalty was usually greater for deviations below than above the optimum in medium and high yield potential environments (yield potential >1000 kg/ha). Predicted optima were more sensitive to seed cost and field establishment (the proportion of viable seeds that become established) than grain price or seed size over the range of values expected in Western Australian agriculture. Field establishment varied from 0.3 to 1 and was higher at low target densities and for hybrid compared with open-pollinated cultivars, with a median of 0.585 at a target density of 40 plants/m². We identified improving field establishment of canola as an important research priority.



1999 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. A. Loeppky ◽  
P. R. Horton ◽  
S. Bittman ◽  
L. Townley-Smith ◽  
T. Wright ◽  
...  

There is no information on the effect, in northeastern Saskatchewan, of N and P fertilizers on forage seed production as influenced by these nutrients in the soil. Therefore, experiments were conducted at eight sites from 1988 to 1991 to determine the effect of N and P fertilizers and soil nutrients on seed yields of alfalfa (Medicago media Pers.), smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.), crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum L.), intermediate wheatgrass (Agropyron intermedium [Host.] Beauv.) and timothy (Phleum pratense L.). Nitrogen fertilizer (urea) was applied on grasses annually at 0, 50, 100 and 150 kg N ha−1 in factorial combination with 0, 9 and 18 kg P ha−1 (monoammonium phosphate and triple superphosphate) and on alfalfa at 0 and 50 kg N ha−1 in combination with 0, 9, 18, 26 and 53 kg P ha−1. Nitrogen significantly increased forage seed yields of all species except alfalfa. Phosphorus increased yields of forage seed for all crops except intermediate wheatgrass. The site, N, P and year and their interactions influenced seed yields. Seed yields ranged from a low of 0.29 t ha−1 for smooth bromegrass in 1990, a dry year, to a high of 1.24 t ha−1 in 1989 a cool, moist year. The yield response to N and P fertilizers was affected by available soil N and P. Relative to control, the percentage increase in grass seed yield from applied N and P fertilizers was highly related to the available soil N and P (R2 = 0.93). The estimated smooth bromegrass seed yield response to 50N–9P kg ha−1 was 0.54 t ha−1 when the soil had intermediate amounts of available N and P (2 mg N ha−1 and 8 mg P ha−1, 0- to 60-cm and 0- to 15-cm depths, respectively). On a soil that tested high in available N and P, there was no response to fertilizer. Regression equations were developed that can be used to estimate forage seed yield response of different species in relation to available soil nutrients. These results are useful for estimating the most economical return on fertilizer investment for forage seed production in Saskatchewan. Key words: Forage, seed, N, P, fertilizer, soil tests, correlation



1969 ◽  
Vol 9 (36) ◽  
pp. 92 ◽  
Author(s):  
GB Taylor ◽  
RC Rossiter

Seed production and persistence of subterranean, cupped, and rose clovers were examined over a period of three years in undefoliated swards, at several plant densities, in the wheat belt of Western Australia. Subterranean clover, although earlier flowering, was outyielded by the other two species in the two driest years. No major differences were found between species in relative water content of leaves during periods of soil moisture deficit. Moreover, species differences in soil moisture exploitation were small. A high proportion of inflorescences failed to set seed in subterranean clover. This reproductive defect, which is associated with restricted inflorescence burial due to dry soil conditions, was thought to be the main reason for the poorer seed yield in this species. Despite low seed yields in the establishment year, plant density after the first year did not seriously limit seed yields, even at the lowest seeding rate, in any of the three species.



2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 801 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. A. Bolland ◽  
I. F. Guthridge

Fertiliser phosphorus (P) and, more recently, fertiliser nitrogen (N) are regularly applied to intensively grazed dairy pastures in south-western Australia. However, it is not known if applications of fertiliser N change pasture dry matter (DM) yield responses to applied fertiliser P. In three Western Australian field experiments (2000–04), six levels of P were applied to large plots with or without fertiliser N. The pastures were rotationally grazed. Grazing started when ryegrass plants had 2–3 leaves per tiller. Plots were grazed in common with the lactating dairy herd in the 6-h period between the morning and afternoon milking. A pasture DM yield response to applied N occurred for all harvests in all three experiments. For the two experiments on P deficient soil, pasture DM yield responses also occurred to applications of P. For some harvests when no fertiliser N was applied, probably because mineral N in soil was so small, there was a small, non-significant pasture DM response to applied P and the P × N interaction was highly significant (P < 0.001). However, for most harvests there was a significant pasture DM response to both applied N and P, and the P × N interaction was significant (P < 0.05–0.01), with the response to applied P, and maximum yield plateaus to applied P, being smaller when no N was applied. Despite this, for the significant pasture DM responses to applied P, the level of applied P required to produce 90% of the maximum pasture DM yield was mostly similar with or without applied N. Evidently for P deficient soils in the region, pasture DM responses to applied fertiliser P are smaller or may fail to occur unless fertiliser N is also applied. In a third experiment, where the soil had a high P status (i.e. more typical of most dairy farms in the region), there was only a pasture DM yield response to applied fertiliser N. We recommend that fertiliser P should not be applied to dairy pastures in the region until soil testing indicates likely deficiency, to avoid developing unproductive, unprofitable large surpluses of P in soil, and reduce the likelihood of P leaching and polluting water in the many drains and waterways in the region. For all three experiments, critical Colwell soil test P (a soil test value that was related to 90% of the maximum pasture DM yield), was similar for the two fertiliser N treatments.



1987 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert C. Hare

Abstract A single foliar spray with either antiethylene compounds or cytokinins shortly after anthesis reduced conelet abortion by half and doubled seed production. Spraying with boric acid plus Cytex® , a relatively economical form of cytokinin derived from seaweed, was equally effective,and addition of certain antiethylene compounds further improved seed yield. South. J. Appl. For. 11(1):6-9.



1988 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 765 ◽  
Author(s):  
MDA Bolland ◽  
MJ Baker

Seed of 2 cultivars of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and 1 burr medic (Medicago polymorpha) with increasing phosphorus (P) concentrations (wheat 1.4-3.7 g P/kg dry matter, medic 3.3-7.9 g P/kg dry matter) were collected from field experiments with variable levels of applied superphosphate (wheat 0- 577 kg P/ha, medic 0-364 kg P/ha) in south-western Australia. These seeds were used in further experiments to examine the effect of seed P concentration on the subsequent dry matter (DM) production of seedlings and plants in 3 glasshouse pot experiments and 1 field experiment. Seed of the same size (wheat, 35 mg/seed; medic, 3.6 mg/seed) but with increasing P concentration produced substantially higher DM yields in the absence or presence of freshly applied superphosphate P up to 28-35 days after sowing in the pot experiments and 67 days after sowing in the field experiment.



1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 59 ◽  
Author(s):  
MDA Bolland ◽  
WJ Collins

On sandy soil near Esperance, W.A., prevention of burr burial compared with covering developing burrs with sand drastically reduced the seed production of three subspp. of Trifolium subterraneum (brachycalycinum, subterraneum and yanninicum) and of T. israeliticum by reducing burr production and seed weight. However, T. globosum produced similar amounts of seed from unburied and buried burrs. On sandy soil at Shenton Park, Perth, W.A., prevention of burr burial also reduced seed production of T. subterraneum subspp. brachycalycinum and subterraneum, this being due to fewer burrs, fewer seeds per burr and lighter seed. For subsp. brachycalycinum, seed yields were two to five times greater from burrs which developed within loose gravel than from those developed over sand (in which fewer burrs were able to bury) as a result of increased production of burrs, more seeds per burr and heavier seed. However, for subsp. subterraneum seed yields were similar from burrs whether developed over gravel or sand.



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