Growth of pasture species on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales

Abstract

The production of herbage by five pasture species—Phalaris tuberosa (phalaris), Festuca arundinacea (tall fescue), Lolium perenne (perennial ryegrass), Trifolium repens (white clover) and Medicago sativa (lucerne)—was measured when they were grown in the field in monoculture, and by phalaris and white clover when grown in mixture. The plots were irrigated to prevent water deficits, and five levels of nitrogen were included; the mixture was also grown under dryland conditions. All plots were defoliated at intervals during a period of 3 years. A capacitance probe was used in an attempt to determine harvest times more objectively, and to establish long-term relationships between meter readings and components of plant yield.

Major differences in production were detected between the species, lucerne producing most in the first 2 years of the experiment. Nitrogen and available soil moisture affected both production and botanical composition, and significant differences were detected in species' responses to applied nitrogen and in nitrogen recovery.

The performance of lucerne and tall fescue suggests that both species deserve to be more widely grown on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales.