Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
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 > CP09088
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 60(10)

Effects of depth and time of sowing and over-wintering on tropical perennial grass seedling emergence in northern New South Wales

G. M. Lodge A B and S. Harden A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A NSW Department of Primary Industries, Tamworth Agricultural Institute, 4 Marsden Park Road, Calala, NSW 2340, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: greg.lodge@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Crop and Pasture Science 60(10) 954-962 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP09088
Submitted: 10 March 2009  Accepted: 23 July 2009   Published: 18 September 2009

Abstract

Two studies were conducted in northern NSW to examine some of the factors affecting the successful emergence of seedlings of five species of tropical perennial grasses [Panicum coloratum var. makarikariense cv. Bambatsi (panic), Digitaria eriantha ssp. eriantha cv. Premier (digit), Chloris gayana cv. Katambora (Rhodes grass), Dichanthium aristatum cv. Floren (bluegrass), and Bothriochloa bladhii ssp. glabra cv. Swann (forest bluegrass)]. The first experiment investigated the effects of depth and time (month) of sowing on tropical perennial grass seedling emergence, while a second series of studies examined the effects of contact of dispersal/sowing units with the soil, particularly over winter, on subsequent seed germination and seedling emergence.

No seedling emergence of any species occurred in September 2006 and June–August 2007. From October 2006 to May 2007 there were significant effects (P < 0.001) of species, sowing time, depth, and their interaction on predicted emergence. From December to March, predicted emergence was always lower for surface-sown caryopses compared with those sown at 10 and 25 mm depth, and Bambatsi was the only species that had >50% emergence from a depth of 50 mm. Recovery of intact caryopses from 300 μm nylon mesh bags stored in the soil for 6 and 12 months was low for all species. Similarly, predicted germination of caryopses from field soil surface and buried locations (2007 and 2008) and those from florets and coated seeds (2008) was low, indicating that these species had a poor ability to over-winter in moist soil.

Additional keywords: seed loss, seed quality, seed weight.


Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Brian Roworth, Ivan Stace, and Mark Brennan in collecting the data. Funding for these studies was jointly provided by the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Future Farming Industries and the NSW Department of Primary Industries.


References


Anderson R (1992) Practical use of improved pastures in crop rotations: a North West New South Wales experience. In ‘Proceedings of the 7th Annual Conference of the Grassland Society of NSW’. (Ed. D Michalk) pp. 40–42. (NSW Grassland Society Inc.: Orange, NSW)

Boschma SP, Lodge GM, Harden S (2008) Herbage mass and persistence of pasture legumes and grasses at two potentially different saline and waterlogging sites in northern New South Wales. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 48, 553–567.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Boschma SP, Lodge GM, Harden S (2009) Establishment and persistence of perennial grass and herb cultivars and lines in a recharge area, North-West Slopes, New South Wales. Crop & Pasture Science 60, 753–767.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Boschma SP , McCormick LH (2008) Towards a tropical grass package for northern New South Wales. In ‘Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Conference of the Grassland Society of NSW’. (Eds SP Boschma, LM Serafin, JF Ayres) pp. 51–57. (NSW Grassland Society Inc.: Orange, NSW)

Buckley KS (1959) Plant testing for soil conservation at Inverell. Part II. Journal of the Soil Conservation Service of New South Wales 15, 281–293. open url image1

Campbell MH , Bowman AM (1992) Establishment of surface-sown pastures in wheat stubble in North Western New South Wales. In ‘Proceedings of the 6th Australian Agronomy Conference’. Armidale, NSW. (Eds KJ Hutchinson, PJ Vickery) p. 521. (The Australian Society of Agronomy: Parkville, Vic.)

Clewett JF , Clarkson NM , George DA , Ooi SH , Owens DT , Partridge IJ , Simpson GB (2003) ‘Rainman StreamFlow version 4.3: a comprehensive climate and stream flow analysis package on CD to assess seasonal forecasts and manage climate risk.’ (Department of Primary Industries: Brisbane, Qld)

Coupland J (1995) Integrated enterprises on a summer pasture system. In ‘Proceedings of the 10th Annual Conference of the Grassland Society of NSW’. (Eds J Ayres, D Michalk, HL Davies) pp. 62–65. (NSW Grassland Society Inc.: Orange, NSW)

Cull J (1992) Using summer and winter perennial pastures for soil improvement and profit. In ‘Proceedings of the 7th Annual Conference of the Grassland Society of NSW’. (Ed. D Michalk) pp. 27–29. (NSW Grassland Society Inc.: Orange, NSW)

Gilmour AR , Gogel BJ , Cullis BR , Thompson R (2006) ‘ASREML User Guide Release 2.0.’ (VSN International Ltd: Hemel Hempstead, UK)

Hobbs JE , Jackson IJ (1977) Climate. In ‘Atlas of New England’. (Eds DAM Lea, JJJ Pigram, LM Greenwood) p. 97. (Department of Geography, University of New England: Armidale, NSW)

Isbell RF (1996) ‘The Australian soil classification.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood, Vic.)

Lodge GM , McCormick LH , Roworth BR (2009) Seed yield, dormancy and seedling survival of some perennial tropical grasses in northern New South Wales. In ‘Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference of the Grassland Society of NSW’. (Eds D Brouwer, N Griffiths, I Blackwood) pp. 90–93. (NSW Grassland Society Inc.: Orange, NSW)

McCormick LH , McGufficke BR , Harden S , Ross BA (1998) Subtropical grass evaluation for pastures in northern NSW. In ‘Proceedings of the 9th Australian Agronomy Conference’. Wagga Wagga, NSW. Available at: www.regional.org.au/au/asa/1998/1/028mccormick.htm

McDonald W , Bowman A (2002) Successful establishment of tropical perennial grasses in North-West NSW. NSW Agriculture Agnote DPI 156, NSW Agriculture, Orange, NSW. Available at: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/field/pastures/establishment/perennial-grasses

Murray S (2004) Successful use of sub-tropical grasses on-farm. In ‘Proceedings of the 19th Annual Conference of the Grassland Society of NSW’. (Eds SP Boschma, GM Lodge) pp. 23–27. (NSW Grassland Society Inc.: Orange, NSW)

Tweedie AD , Robinson KW (1963) ‘The regions of Australia.’ (Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd: Melbourne)

Watt LA, Whalley RDB (1982) Effect of sowing depth and seedling morphology on establishment of grass seedlings on cracking black earths. Australian Rangeland Journal 4, 52–60.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1