Performance of pasture grasses in mixtures with Townsville lucerne at Katherine, N.T

Abstract

At Katherine, N.T., between 1959-60 and 1961-62, the performance of Townsville lucerne alone and of mixtures of Townsville lucerne with Gayndah buffel grass, Biloela buffel grass, birdwood grass, and Sorghum almum was compared at three frequencies of wet-season cutting. The two most satisfactory mixtures, Townsville lucerne with Gaynahh buffel and birdwood grass, differed little in performance. Over three years, their average dry matter production exceeded that of Townsville lucerne alone by 45 per cent, but average nitrogen production was not appreciably greater than that of the pure legume pasture. Biloela buffel grass is considered to be an unsuitable companion grass for Townsville lucerne because of its competitive power. After three years, the dry matter contribution of the legume in Biloela buffel mixtures was only 18 per cent under the most favourable cutting treatment. The Sorghum almum mixture gave the highest dry matter yield in the first year, but the grass did not survive well, and by the third year the pasture was mainly Townsville lucerne. Sorghum almum may be useful in providing bulk in the early years of an intended pure legume pasture. The role of a perennial grass component in Townsville lucerne pastures is discussed.