A novel approach to planting grass–legume pastures in the mixed farming zone of southern inland Queensland, Australia
A. M. Whitbread A D , C. A. Hall B and B. C. Pengelly CA CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, PMB2, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.
B CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems/APSRU, 203 Tor St, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia.
C CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems/APSRU, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, Qld 4067, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: anthony.whitbread@csiro.au
Crop and Pasture Science 60(12) 1147-1155 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP09058
Submitted: 16 February 2009 Accepted: 14 August 2009 Published: 23 November 2009
Abstract
Reliable establishment of pasture systems with a desirable composition of grasses and legumes remains a challenge in the highly variable climates of the northern grain belt of southern inland Queensland. In this paper, an alternative system is proposed whereby legumes and grasses are planted simultaneously in alternative strips. A 4-year study tested the establishment, production, and botanical composition of the tropical legume species Macroptilium bracteatum cvv. Cardaga and Juanita, Lablab purpureus cv. Endurance, and Clitoria ternatea cv. Milgarra sown as pure stands or with grass strips. The grass strips, and a grass-only treatment, both contained a mix of Panicum maximum cv. Petrie, Dichanthium aristatum cv. Floren, and Bothriochloa insculpta cv. Bisset. L. purpureus was relatively unproductive, yielding ~2000 kg/ha dry matter (DM) produced in each of the first 2 years. M. bracteatum produced 2050 and 3300 kg/ha DM in Years 1 and 2, with declining plant populations and DM in subsequent years. C. ternatea produced 960 kg/ha DM in Year 1, 2730 kg/ha DM in Year 2, and continued to persist throughout the trial, albeit at low DM production levels. The grass-only treatment was dominated by the sown grass species, while the legume-based treatments were dominated by a colonising native species, Dichanthium sericeum, in the fourth and final year. Sowing grass strips adjacent to the legume areas proved a successful strategy, with the proportion of sown grasses in the legume strips increasing to >20% of total DM by Year 4. Soil carbon changes did not differ between treatments, but total C in the top 0.15 m increased from 0.99% in Year 1 to 1.13% in Year 4, representing a net gain of 6.5 t/ha in C over 3 years.
Additional keywords: ley legumes, mixed farming systems, pasture systems, species dynamics.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the Grain Research Development Corporation who funded the CSA3 National Annual Pasture Improvement Program (NAPLIP) and to the Johnson family of Bidson for their generous support and for allowing us access to land over several years. Bruce Cook, David Lloyd, John McIvor, and Cam McDonald are thanked for their helpful comments on the manuscript.
Anon.
(1992) New herbage plant cultivars. Clitoria ternatea L. Butterfly pea cv. Milgarra. Tropical Grasslands 26, 70–74.
Bisset WJ, Sillar DI
(1984) Angleton grass (Dichanthium aristatum) in Queensland. Tropical Grasslands 18, 161–174.
Collard SJ, Zammit C
(2006) Effects of land-use intensification on soil carbon and ecosystem services in Brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) landscapes of southeast Queensland, Australia. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment 117, 185–194.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
CAS |
Colwell JD
(1965) An automated procedure for the determination of phosphorus in sodium hydrogen carbonate extracts of soils. Chemistry & Industry 22(May), 893–895.
Dalal RC, Mayer RJ
(1986) Long-term trends in fertility of soils under continuous cultivation and cereal cropping in southern Queensland. II. Total organic carbon and its rate of loss from the soil profile. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 24, 281–292.
|
CAS |
Dalal RC,
Strong WM,
Weston EJ,
Cooper JC,
Lehane KJ,
King AJ, Chicken CJ
(1995) Sustaining productivity of a Vertisol at Warra, Queensland, with fertilisers, no-tillage, or legumes. 1. Organic matter status. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 35, 903–913.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
CAS |
Dalal RC,
Strong WM,
Weston EJ, Gaffney J
(1991) Sustaining multiple production systems. 2. Soil fertility decline and restoration of cropping lands in sub-tropical Queensland. Tropical Grasslands 25, 173–180.
Dear BS,
Moore GA, Hughes SJ
(2003) Adaptation and potential contribution of temperate perennial legumes to the southern Australian wheatbelt: a review. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 43, 1–18.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Everist SL, Moule GR
(1952) Studies in the environment of Queensland 2. The climatic factor in drought. Queensland Journal of Agricultural Science 9, 185–299.
Grace PR,
Oades JM,
Keith H, Hancock TW
(1995) Trends in wheat yield and soil organic carbon in the Permanent Rotation Trial at the Waite Agricultural Institute, South Australia. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 35, 857–864.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
CAS |
Irwin JAG,
Lloyd DL, Lowe KF
(2001) Lucerne biology and genetic improvement—an analysis of past activities and future goals in Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 699–712.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Jacobsen CN
(1981) A review of the species of Dichanthium native to Australia with special reference to their occurrence in Queensland. Tropical Grasslands 15(2), 84–95.
Johnson B, Lloyd DL
(1991)
Madeira serradella – a winter legume for sandy soils on the Darling Downs. Tropical Grasslands 25, 231–232.
Jones RM, Rees MC
(1997) Evaluation of tropical legumes on clay soils at four sites in southern inland Queensland. Tropical Grasslands 31, 95–106.
Konboon Y,
Blair GJ,
Lefroy RDB, Whitbread AM
(2000) Tracing the nitrogen, sulfur and carbon released from plant residues in a soil/plant system. Australian Journal of Soil Research 38, 699–710.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Liu CJ
(1998) Description of perennial Lablab purpureus cultivar ‘Endurance’. Plant Variety Journal 11(4), 26–27.
Lloyd DL
(1981) Markarikari grass—(Panicum coloratum Var. Markarkariense)—A review with particular reference to Australia. Tropical Grasslands 15(1), 44–52.
Lloyd DL,
Smith KP,
Clarkson NM,
Weston EJ, Johnson B
(1991) Ley pastures in the subtropics. Tropical Grasslands 25, 181–188.
Pengelly BC, Conway MJ
(2000) Pastures on cropping soils: which tropical pasture legumes to use? Tropical Grasslands 34, 162–168.
Pu G,
Strong WM,
Saffigna PG, Doughton J
(2001) Denitrification, leaching and immobilisation of applied 15N following legume and grass pastures in a semi-arid climate in Australia. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 59, 199–207.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Robertson FA,
Myers RJK, Saffigna PG
(1993) Distribution of carbon and nitrogen in a long-term cropping system and permanent pasture system. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 44, 1323–1336.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Russell JS
(1976) Comparative salt tolerance of some tropical and temperate legumes and tropical grasses. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 16, 103–109.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
CAS |
Scattini WJ,
Loch DS, Cook BG
(1992) Register of Australian herbage plant cultivars. A. Grasses. 17. Bothriochloa (b) Bothriochloa insculpta (Hochst. ex A. Rich) A. Camus (creeping bluegrass) cv. Bisset. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 32, 792–793.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Siebert BD, Hunter RA
(1977) Prediction of herbage intake and liveweight gain of cattle grazing tropical pastures from the composition of the diet. Agricultural Systems 2(3), 199–208.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Slavich PG, Pettersen GH
(1993) Estimating the electrical conductivity of saturated paste extracts from 1 : 5 soil:water suspensions and texture. Australian Journal of Soil Research 31, 73–81.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Whitbread AM,
Blair GJ, Lefroy RDB
(2000) Managing legume leys, residues and fertilisers to enhance the sustainability of wheat cropping systems in Australia 2. Soil physical fertility and carbon. Soil & Tillage Research 54, 77–89.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Whitbread AM, Clem RL
(2006) Graze to grain – measuring and modelling the effects of grazed pasture leys on soil nitrogen and sorghum yield on a Vertosol soil in the Australian subtropics. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 57, 489–500.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Whitbread AM,
Lefroy RDB, Blair GJ
(1998) A survey of the impact of cropping on soil physical and chemical properties in north-western New South Wales. Australian Journal of Soil Research 36, 669–681.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Whitehouse MJ, Littler JW
(1984) Effect of pasture on subsequent wheat crops on a black earth soil of the Darling Downs. II. Organic C, nitrogen and pH changes. Queensland Journal of Agriculture and Animal Science 41, 13–20.
Whitbread AM,
Pengelly BC, Smith BR
(2005) An evaluation of three tropical ley legumes for use in mixed farming systems on clay soils in Queensland, Australia. Tropical Grasslands 39, 9–21.
