Production and persistence of temperate perennial grasses and legumes at five saline sites in southern Australia
P. G. H. Nichols A B H J , M. E. Rogers C H , A. D. Craig D H , T. O. Albertsen E H , S. M. Miller D H I , D. R. McClements A H , S. J. Hughes F H , M. F. D’Antuono A and B. S. Dear G HA Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, Locked Bag 4, Bentley Delivery Centre, WA 6983, Australia.
B School of Plant Biology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
C Primary Industries Research Victoria, Department of Primary Industries Victoria, Tatura, Vic 3616, Australia.
D South Australian Research and Development Institute, Struan Research Centre, PO Box 618, Naracoorte, SA 5271, Australia.
E Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, Great Southern Agricultural Research Institute, Katanning, WA 6317, Australia.
F South Australian Research and Development Institute, Plant Research Centre, Waite Campus, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
G EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (Alliance between New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and Charles Sturt University), Pine Gully Road, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia.
H Cooperative Research Centre for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
I Present address: South East Natural Resources Management Board, Mount Gambier, SA 5290, Australia.
J Corresponding author. Email: pnichols@agric.wa.gov.au
Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 48(4) 536-552 https://doi.org/10.1071/EA07168
Submitted: 5 June 2007 Accepted: 3 January 2008 Published: 7 March 2008
Abstract
Herbage production and persistence of 24 perennial legumes from 20 species and 19 perennial grasses from 10 species were measured at five sites across southern Australia that differed in annual rainfall and extent of salinity and waterlogging. At Cranbrook, Western Australia, a site with occasional waterlogging and a summer salinity [estimated by electrical conductivity (ECe)] of 6.9 dS/m in the surface 10 cm of soil, strawberry clover (Trifolium fragiferum L.) and Lotus uligonosis Schkuhr produced 2.7 t/ha in the second year and had the highest legume plant frequencies in year 3, while herbage production of L. tenuis Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd. and L. corniculatus L. was not significantly lower. No grasses produced more than 0.3 t/ha in the second year, but tall wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum (Podp.) Z.-W. Liu & R.-C. Wang) was the most persistent. At Girgarre, Victoria, another site with occasional waterlogging and a summer ECe of 8.0 dS/m, phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.) produced 8.5 t/ha in the second year, while production of tall wheatgrass and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) was not significantly lower. Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.) was the only legume that produced more than 1 t/ha. Phalaris, tall wheatgrass and sulla had the highest densities in the third year. At Duranillin (Western Australia) and Keith (South Australia), which both experienced extensive winter waterlogging and had summer ECe >30 dS/m, puccinellia (Puccinellia ciliata Bor) and tall wheatgrass were the only grass or legume species that persisted beyond the first summer. Puccinellia was the only species to produce useful quantities of herbage (1.0 t/ha) in year 3 at Duranillin. No perennial grasses or legumes produced more than 0.35 t/ha in either year 2 or year 3 at Tammin, Western Australia, the lowest rainfall site (330 mm mean annual rainfall) with summer ECe of 10.9 dS/m. Genotypic differences within sites were indicated for several species, suggesting opportunities to develop cultivars better adapted to saline soils
Additional keywords: biomass, establishment, plant breeding, plant evaluation, waterlogging.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Tony York, Ian Peirce, Andrew Toovey, Dennis and Heather Sanders and Lewis Watson and their families for their support and use of land to conduct the research. The able technical assistance of Wayne Dempsey, David Cornwall and Graeme Phyland is gratefully acknowledged. Rhizobia were supplied by Nigel Charman and Ross Ballard (South Australian Research and Development Institute). The helpful comments of Dr Ed Barrett-Lennard and another anonymous referee improved the manuscript. Funding was provided by the Grains Research and Development Corporation and Land, Water and Wool, (a joint initiative of Land and Water Australia and Australian Wool Innovation), through the Sustainable Grazing on Saline Lands sub-program (which included co-investment from Meat and Livestock Australia).
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