Register      Login
Crop and Pasture Science Crop and Pasture Science Society
Plant sciences, sustainable farming systems and food quality
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > CP > AR05409
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.


References


Angus JF, Gault RR, Peoples MB, Stapper M, van Herwaarden AF (2001) Soil water extraction by dryland crops, annual pastures, and lucerne in south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 183–192.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bell LW, Moore GA, Ewing MA, Bennett SJ (2005) Establishment and summer survival of the perennial legumes, Dorycnium hirsutum and D. rectum in mediterranean environments. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 45, 1245–1254.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bennett SJ (2002) Distribution and economic importance of perennial Astragalus, Lotus and Dorycnium. In ‘New perennial legumes for sustainable agriculture’. (Ed. SJ Bennett) pp. 90–115. (University of Western Australia Press: Crawley, W. Aust.)

Clarke CJ, Mauger GW, Bell RW, Hobbs RJ (1998) Computer modelling of the effect of revegetation strategies on salinity in the western wheatbelt of Western Australia 1. The impact of revegetation strategies. Australian Journal of Soil Research 36, 109–129.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Cocks PS (2001) Ecology of herbaceous perennial legumes: a review of characteristics that may provide management options for the control of salinity and waterlogging in dryland cropping systems. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 137–151.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Cransberg L, McFarlane DJ (1994) Can perennial pastures provide the basis for a sustainable farming system in southern Australia? New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 37, 287–294. open url image1

Dear BS, Moore GA, Hughes SJ (2003) Adaptation and potential contribution of temperate perennial legumes to the southern Australian wheatbelt: a review. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 43, 1–18.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Dolling PJ, Latta RA, Ward PR, Robertson MJ, Asseng S (2005) Soil water extraction and biomass production by lucerne in the south of Western Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 56, 389–404.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Dunin FX (2002) Integrating agroforestry and perennial pastures to mitigate water logging and secondary salinity. Agricultural Water Management 53, 259–270.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Ewing MA , Dolling PJ (2003) Herbaceous perennial pasture legumes: their role and development in southern Australian farming systems to enhance system stability and profitability. In ‘New perennial legumes for sustainable agriculture’. (Ed. SJ Bennett) pp. 3–14. (University of Western Australia Press: Perth, W. Aust.)

GenStat 6 Committee (2002) ‘GenStat 6th edn 6.1.0.200.’ (Lawes Agricultural Trust: Rothampstead, UK)

Hatton TJ, Nulsen RA (1999) Towards achieving functional ecosystem mimicry with respect to water cycling in southern Australian agriculture. Agroforestry Systems 45, 203–214.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Hill MJ (1996) Potential adaptation zones for temperate pasture species as constrained by climate: a knowledge-based logical modelling approach. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 47, 1095–1117.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Holford ICR, Doyle AD (1978) Effect of grazed lucerne on the moisture status of wheat-growing soils. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 18, 112–117.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Humphries AW, Auricht GC (2001) Breeding lucerne for Australia’s southern dryland cropping environments. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 153–169.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Isbell RF (1996) ‘The Australian soil classification.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne)

Latta RA, Blacklow LJ, Cocks PS (2001) Comparative soil water, pasture production, and crop yields in phase farming systems with lucerne and annual pasture in Western Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 295–303.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Latta RA, Cocks PS, Matthews C (2002) Lucerne pastures to sustain agricultural production in southwestern Australia. Agricultural Water Management 53, 99–109.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Lolicato SJ (2000) Soil water dynamics and growth of perennial pasture species for dryland salinity control. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 40, 37–45.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Moore GA (2004) ‘Soil guide: a handbook for understanding and managing agricultural soils.’ (Department of Agriculture Western Australia: Perth, W. Aust.)

Ridley AM, Christy B, Dunin FX, Haines PJ, Wilson KF, Ellington A (2001) Lucerne in crop rotations on the Riverine Plains. 1. The soil water balance. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 263–277.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Sandral GA, Dear BS, Virgona JM, Swan AD, Orchard BA (2006) Changes in soil water content under annual- and perennial-based pasture systems in the wheatbelt of southern New South Wales. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 56, 321–333.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Virgona JM (2003) Effect of lucerne density on soil moisture content during summer in southern NSW. In ‘Proceedings of 11th Australian Agronomy Conference’. Geelong, Vic. (Australian Society of Agronomy: Horsham, Vic.)

Ward PR, Dunin FX, Micin SF (2001) Water balance of annual and perennial pastures on a duplex soil in a Mediterranean environment. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 203–209.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Ward PR, Dunin FX, Micin SF (2002) Water use and root growth by annual and perennial pastures and subsequent crops in a phase rotation. Agricultural Water Management 53, 83–97.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1