scholarly journals Potential and pitfalls of caucasian clover in southern New Zealand

Author(s):  
D.R. Stevens ◽  
B. Mccorkindale

The potential of caucasian clover (Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb.) to produce high quality forage and to establish in on-farm conditions was tested in southern New Zealand. Caucasian clover was established alone and after one year the plots were oversown with ryegrass, in November. After a further 6-month establishment period, dry matter (DM) yield and botanical composition were measured over the following two years. A 2 x 2 factorial design tested the effects of early or late flowering ryegrass and frequent (2 weeks in spring, 4 weeks in summer and autumn and twice during winter) or infrequent (4 weeks in spring, 6 weeks in summer and autumn, and once in winter) defoliation. Plots defoliated frequently produced less dry matter than infrequently defoliated plots (13260 and 16180 kg DM/ha respectively in year 1 and 9980 and 12250 kg DM/ha respectively in year 2, P

Author(s):  
Hari Krishna ◽  
Peter D. Kemp ◽  
The Late Sally D. Newton

'Necton' sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.) is a perennial forage legume with potential to provide high quality, non-bloating feed. This trial examined the effect of grazing intensity and frequency on sulla over one year. Annual dry matter yields ranged from 7.4 to 18.0 t/ha. There was no difference in the yield of hard and lax-grazed plots but grazing in late autumn significantly decreased plant density and yield. Keywords 'Necton', sulla, legume, grazing management


2007 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 259-262
Author(s):  
K.N. Tozer ◽  
S. Ates ◽  
N.R. Mapp ◽  
M.C. Smith ◽  
R.J. Lucas ◽  
...  

Pasture growth, botanical composition and sheep grazing preference were measured over 20 months in tall fescue (cultivar Advance), without endophyte (Nil) or infected with AR542 (MaxPTM) endophyte, and clover pastures sown into a dryland soil, Canterbury, New Zealand. Pastures were rotationally grazed with sheep, with grazing preference for the two endophyte treatments measured in late autumn and early spring. Annual dry matter production from April 2004 to April 2005 was not significantly different between AR542 (6293 kg DM/ha) and Nil (5864 kg DM/ha) tall fescue. The number of tall fescue plants/m2 and their basal diameter was greater for AR542 (35 plants/m2, 7.5 cm diameter) than Nil endophyte tall fescue (28 plants/m2, 6.8 cm diameter). AR542 endophyte tall fescue pastures had fewer weeds, mainly annual grasses, than Nil endophyte pastures throughout the trial. Grazing preference, measured by the number of sheep grazing each plot, and decline in pasture height did not differ between Nil and AR542 tall fescue. Keywords: tall fescue, novel endophyte, AR542, botanical composition, weed, grazing preference


Author(s):  
C.T. Westwood ◽  
M.G. Norriss

Liveweight changes were measured for lambs grazing six high endophyte perennial ryegrasses, in a grazing experiment run by an independent research organisation in Canterbury, New Zealand. Ryegrass cultivars were sown under code in a binary mix with white clover in February 1997. Plots were strategically irrigated to avoid moisture stress, and stocked at approximately 27 Coopworth ewe lambs per ha in May 1997. Common pasture residual mass was maintained across cultivars by strategic addition of extra lambs, with extra grazing days recorded for each replicate. Lamb liveweight gains and botanical composition of replicates were assessed quarterly. Lamb liveweight gains differed significantly between treatments in Years 1 and 2 of this ongoing 3 year study. Lambs grazing 'Quartet' tetraploid perennial ryegrass gained, on average, 37.4 kg and 36.1 kg liveweight during Years 1 and 2 respectively, and together with 'Aries HD' (35.0 and 35.9 kg) produced significantly greater liveweight gain compared with 'Grasslands Nui' (22.0 and 23.7 kg) and 'Bronsyn' (22.5 and 24.1 kg), LSD0.05 = 6.0 and 7.4. Lambs grazing 'Embassy' gained 31.6 kg and 28.7 kg, and 'Vedette' 29.8 kg and 28.0 kg. Extra grazing days expressed as a percentage of base grazing days were between 3.8 and 6.7% across cultivars for Year 1 and between 2.0 and 6.5% across cultivars for Year 2. This study demonstrated significant differences in animal productivity between perennial ryegrass cultivars that produce comparable yields of dry matter. Differences may reflect variation in forage quality, endophyte toxins, clover content in the sward or other unidentified cultivar characteristics. Keywords: digestibility, endophyte, lamb, liveweight, perennial ryegrass, tetraploid


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Breanna Taylor ◽  
Anna Mills ◽  
Malcolm Smith ◽  
Richard Lucas ◽  
Derrick Moot

Dry matter yield and botanical composition of four grazed dryland pasture types were compared over 8 years in summer-dry conditions at Ashley Dene, Canterbury, New Zealand. The experiment was sown in March 2013 to evaluate cocksfoot (CF)- or meadow fescue/ryegrass hybrid (RG)-based pastures established with either subterranean (Sub) or subterranean and balansa (S+B) clovers. Plantain was included in all pasture types. Perennial ryegrass established poorly on the low soil moisture holding capacity Lismore soil and in Year 2 was re-broadcast into the RG pastures. Despite this, plantain was the main sown species in RG pastures beyond Year 3. Total spring yield was greatest in Year 5 at 6720 kg DM/ha and varied with spring rainfall. Cocksfoot-based pastures had 60% of sown species present in the spring of Year 8, compared with 28% in RG-based pastures. Balansa clover was only present up to Year 5 after a managed seeding event in the first spring. White clover did not persist in the dryland environment past Year 2. Sub clover yield depended on the time and amount of autumn rainfall but contributed up to 45% of the spring yield. Cocksfoot-sub clover pastures appear to be most resilient in this summer-dry environment with variable spring rainfall.


1999 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penny A. Riffkin ◽  
Paul E. Quigley ◽  
Fiona J. Cameron ◽  
Mark B. Peoples ◽  
Janice E. Thies

Amounts of biologically fixed nitrogen (kg N/ha) were determined in grazed dairy pastures in 3 different areas of south-western Victoria over 12 months between October 1995 and 1996 using measurements of pasture growth, botanical composition, and the 15N natural abundance of white clover (Trifolium repens) and non-legume components. Estimates of the amounts of N fixed, based on N in clover shoots, were similar in each pasture (11, 16, and 18 kg N/ha.year), despite different environmental and management conditions. These on-farm determinations were low compared with experimental studies on N fixation by white clover undertaken in New Zealand (224–291 kg N/ha.year) and elsewhere in Australia (44–135 kg N/ha). Low fixation levels were attributed to low pasture yields (average 8.2 t dry matter (DM)/ha.year) and poor legume content in the swards (average 8%). Despite this, most of the white clover N was derived from atmospheric N2 (65%), and therefore, N fixation could potentially be playing an important role in the N economy of milk production on these farms.


Author(s):  
J.H. Niezen ◽  
G.C. Waghorn ◽  
T.B. Lyons ◽  
D.C. Corson

With high dry matter yields of high quality forage, high soluble carbohydrate levels and a suitability for harvest by cutting and removing, the forage legume sulla (Hedysarum coronarium) has the potential to be an important silage crop in New Zealand. In three experiments the ensiling potential of sulla was compared with conventional pasture using a mini-silo system which allows for rapid evaluation of forages using 3-4 kg of herbage. Experiment 1 evaluated the effect of increasing the proportion of sulla in pasture silage (0/100, 25/75, 50/50, 75/25 and 100/0 sulla/pasture). The principal findings were that increasing sulla content of the silage decreased (P


Author(s):  
W.M. Williams ◽  
M.G. Lambert ◽  
J.R. Caradus

A white clover variety selected for New Zealand moist hill country was compared with three other white clover varieties in hill country at Ballantrae. Small plots of the hill country selection, Grasslands Huia, Grasslands Pitau, and the resident Ballantrae white clover were planted into paddocks receiving high or low superphosphate applications and three different managements - rotational grazing by cattle, rotational grazing by sheep, or set-stocked sheep for most of the year. Numbers of white clover stolons, white clover dry matter (DM) and total DM production, and proportion of white clover in cut herbage were determined twice yearly for three years. After one year of grazing the hill country selection consistently had approximately double the stolon numbers of Huia, a significantly higher proportion of clover in the herbage than Huia and clover DM yields 25-63% higher than Huia. These differences were not affected significantly by either management or soil fertility. Pitau and the local Ballantrae white clover were at no time more productive than Huia and frequently were poorer, although stolen numbers of the Ballantrae clover were usually higher during the trial and almost matched the selected variety after three years. The hill country selection is being multiplied for pre-release testing.


2016 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 185-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M. Mills ◽  
M.C. Smith ◽  
D.J. Moot

Between 2009/2010 and 2014/2015 a total of 711 destructive paired samples of total dry matter yield (kg DM/ha) and lucerne height were taken from a grazed dryland lucerne monoculture experiment at Ashley Dene, Canterbury, New Zealand. These were used to develop relationships suitable for on-farm estimates of lucerne. For pre-graze yields, the variation accounted for increased from 59%, based on lucerne height alone, to 84% for the 14 Year/Season combinations. For postgrazing residual DM yields, inclusion of Year as a factor increased the R2 from 0.39 to 0.65. Pre-graze data were also grouped into spring, summer and autumn. These relationships accounted for 54-60% of the observed variation in dryland lucerne. In spring the multiplier was ~95 kg DM/cm and this dropped to ~75 kg DM/ cm for heights measured in the summer. In autumn the multiplier was ~55 kg DM/cm. Lack of stability in the relationships over time could reflect environmental conditions and changes in stand density which height measurements alone cannot account for. Keywords: alfalfa, dry matter yield estimates, height, Medicago sativa L., regression analysis


Author(s):  
R.J.M. Hay ◽  
D.L. Ryan

In a series of trials at Grasslands Gore, over 10 years, the late-flowering tetraploid red clover 'Grassland Pawera' was more productive and persistent than other red clover cultivars. The strong summer growth of Pawera meets the need for heavy-weight lamb feed and high quality forage for conservation in intensive sheep farming systems in Southland. Lenient. infrequent defoliation is necessary to maximise DM production and persistence of Pawera. The most compatible of the grasses evaluated was 'Grasslands Roa' tall fescue. However, 'Grasslands Nui' ryegrass will still be the major grass sown with Pawera owing to its widespread acceptance. In ryegrass mixtures, sowing rates of 5-7 kg/ha of red clover were needed to optimise establishment and subsequent yield. Evidence of oestrogenic activity of Pewera to sheep prompted Grasslands Division to select within Pawera for a low formononetin cultivar. Keywords: red clover, Pawera. Hamua, Turoa. G21. G22, G27. oestrogenic activity, Nui ryegrass, Roa tall fescue, Maru phalaris. Southland, sheep grazing, frequency, intensity, quality. seasonal growth


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