Influence of weather on mouldiness and the mycoflora of legume pasture during the dry season in tropical Australia

Abstract

Spoilage of high quality dry legume herbage as a result of dew and/or small falls of rain during the dry season is a hazard associated with this type of development in the northern Australian beef industry. The most important effect of moisture is the reduction of palatability of forage as a result of mouldiness. This paper describes studies on the relationship between mouldiness and the mycoflora of dry leaf litter in swards of Caribbean stylo at Katherine, Darwin and Townsville from May to August 1978. Forty-three fungi were identified on 42 samples. Numerical methods were used to classify the samples of litter into nine affinity groups distinguished by the possession of different mycofloras. This grouping of the samples correlated well with other factors such as the degree of discoloration and the particular history of the litter from which they were drawn. From this information it was concluded that increase in discoloration, clearly related to degree of mouldiness, was also related to stages in a fungal succession. The stage of the succession attained depended on the time of sampling, weather, sward management and the level at which leaves were sampled from the litter.