Response of skeleton weed (Chondrilla juncea) to applied superphosphate and grazing management

Abstract

The influence of pasture topdressing with superphosphate and of stocking rate on the Chondrilla uncea population in a clover-ryegrass (Trifolium subterraneum-Lolium rigidum) pasture was measured in a grazing experiment at Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, over the period 1962 to 1966. Superphosphate application reduced final weed populations at all stocking rates. Continuous grazing maintained skeleton weed populations at a low level, but increasing the stocking rate from 5 to 15 sheep ha-1 had little influence on weed numbers. A management comparison at a high stocking rate-high fertilizer rate showed that rotational grazing increased the weed population compared with continuous grazing systems.