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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 57(8)

Comparative water use by Dorycnium hirsutum-, lucerne-, and annual-based pastures in the Western Australian wheatbelt

Lindsay W. Bell A B D , Megan H. Ryan A B , Geoff A. Moore C and Mike A. Ewing B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Plant Biology M084, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.

B CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.

C Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, 3 Baron-Hay Court, South Perth, WA 6151, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: lbell@cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 57(8) 857-865 https://doi.org/10.1071/AR05409
Submitted: 22 November 2005  Accepted: 10 March 2006   Published: 9 August 2006

Abstract

Dryland salinity in southern Australia has been caused by inadequate water use by annual crops and pastures. The purpose of this study was to compare the water use of annual pastures and Medicago sativa L. (lucerne) with Dorycnium hirsutum (L.) Ser., a potential new perennial forage species. The soil water dynamics under bare ground, annual legume-, lucerne-, and D. hirsutum-based pastures were compared at 2 sites in the low- (Merredin) and medium- (New Norcia) rainfall wheatbelt of Western Australia between September 2002 and February 2005.

Soil under D. hirsutum was drier than under annual pastures by 8–23 mm in Year 1, 43–57 mm in Year 2, and 81 mm in Year 3. Lucerne used little additional water (<19 mm, n.s.) compared with D. hirsutum and profile soil water content was similar under both species throughout the experiment. At Merredin, annual pastures used water to a depth of 1.0 m, whereas under both D. hirsutum and lucerne in the first 3 years after establishment the successive maximum depth of water use was 1.0, 1.8, and 2.2 m. At New Norcia, additional soil water was extracted by lucerne and D. hirsutum at depths <1.0 m and no difference between treatments was detected below 1.0 m. Biomass of D. hirsutum pasture harvested in autumn contained minimal annual components and was 15–50% of that produced by lucerne- or annual legume-based pastures. D. hirsutum and lucerne plant density declined each summer (25–80%), but D. hirsutum density was lower than lucerne due to poorer establishment. Nonetheless, the comparable water use of lucerne and D. hirsutum suggests that D. hirsutum could make reductions in recharge similar to those of lucerne in the Western Australian wheatbelt.

Additional keywords: canary clover, dryland salinity, recharge control, perennial pastures, production.


Acknowledgments

We thank Darryl McClements, Ross Thompson, and Chris Gadja for their help installing neutron access tubes; David Tennant for his advice on experimental design; John Tittrington and Brad Wintle for help sowing the trials and carrying out herbicide and pesticide applications; Yvette Oliver and Phil Ward for advice on managing NMM data; Ian Wright for allowing the experiment to be conducted on his property; and the Department of Agriculture Western Australia, Merredin Research Station staff. The assistance of Richard Bennett, Leida Williams, and Claire Farrell in conducting DM cuts and in the development of the NMM calibrations, and comments on this paper from Janine Croser and Perry Dolling, were greatly appreciated. Lindsay Bell was supported during his PhD by an Australian Postgraduate Award, the CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity, the Jean Rogerson Memorial Trust, and the AW Howard Memorial Trust. Megan Ryan is funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, Meat and Livestock Australia, and the CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity.


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