Biserrula and subterranean clover can co-exist during the vegetative phase but are out-competed by capeweed
S. A. Conning A B , M. Renton A C , M. H. Ryan A and P. G. H. Nichols A D E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Plant Biology and the Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
B Current address: Landmark, 156 Flores Rd, Geraldton, WA 6530, Australia.
C CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Floreat, WA 6014, Australia.
D Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, 3 Baron-Hay Court, South Perth, WA 6151, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: phil.nichols@agric.wa.gov.au
Crop and Pasture Science 62(3) 236-247 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP10218
Submitted: 22 June 2010 Accepted: 21 February 2011 Published: 17 March 2011
Abstract
Biserrula (Biserrula pelecinus L.) is a recently domesticated annual pasture legume developed for ley farming systems that have traditionally relied upon subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.). This study examined competitive interactions between biserrula and subterranean clover and the common broad-leaf weed capeweed (Arctotheca calendula L.) during seedling establishment and vegetative growth, in order to develop guidelines for successful legume pasture management. Two glasshouse experiments were conducted to investigate the allocation of biomass to roots and shoots in biserrula, capeweed, and subterranean clover and its relationship with competitive ability in the first 100 days after sowing. In Experiment 1, capeweed had a higher relative growth rate of shoots and roots than the two legumes and developed a more extensive root system. Experiment 2 consisted of growing binary mixtures of the three species at different densities. The effect of competition on the biomass of biserrula, capeweed, and subterranean clover was best modelled by a power–exponential model. Increasing capeweed densities suppressed the biomass production of both biserrula and subterranean clover, whereas capeweed biomass increased with increasing densities of subterranean clover. This study suggests that the competitive advantage of capeweed is mainly conferred during the seedling stage. It also suggests that biserrula and subterranean clover germinating at the same time can co-exist as a mixed sward, at least up until flowering, if biserrula density is high relative to subterranean clover.
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