Summer sowing serradella pod into perennial grass pastures

2010
CC BY 4.0

Research organisaton

Trial details

Researcher(s) Phillip Barrett (Lennard (AgVivo/Evergreen Farming))
Geoff Moore (DAFWA)
Brad Wintle (DAFWA)
Year(s) 2010
Contributor West Midlands Group
Trial location(s) Badgingarra, WA
Summer sowing serradella pod into perennial grass pastures locations
Aims
  • To evaluate the effectiveness of establishing annual legumes into established perennial grass-based pastures by 'summer' sowing of hard-seeded serradella pod.
  • To test the effectiveness of drilling pod versus broadcasting of pod.
Key messages
  • The results for summer sowing into an established perennial grass pasture were encouraging in a season with minimal spring rainfall. The results were negatively impacted by the low rainfall in spring. Drilling pod was more successful than broadcasting pod and then using animals to trample it into the soil.
  • This was the first summer sowing trial into perennial grasses in WA so it is too early to develop recommendations, but it appears that you need to use 20 to 40 kg pod/ha to achieve a good seedbank. The mid-March sowing time is at the end of the ‘sowing window’ for summer sowing. Sowing in early February is desirable to maximize the time for hardseed breakdown.
  • With summer sowing using pod rather than seed there is no need for de-hulling, so there is a cost saving per kilogram, but higher sowing rates are required as the seedlings need to compete with annual grasses, broadleaf weeds as well as the perennial grasses. The summer sowing method requires relatively high sowing rates and the concept relies to a large extent on farmers producing hard-seeded serradella pod on-farm at a low cost.After these promising results in 2010, similar trials will be undertaken in 2011 with local producers.
Lead research organisation N/A
Host research organisation N/A
Related program N/A
Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Tom and Sue Alston for use of their land and their assistance with the trial, also to Gordon Dodd for use of his seeder.


Other trial partners Not specified
Download the trial report to view additional trial information

Method

Crop type : N/A
Treatment type(s)
  • Crop: Variety
  • Sowing: Method
  • Sowing: Rate
Trial type Experimental
Trial design Replicated

Badgingarra 2010

Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Download the trial report to view additional method/treatment information

Download results

Trial results Table 1

# Variety
Treatment 1
Pod yield (kg/ha)
1 Margurita French serradella 20kg/ha broadcast & animals 130
2 Margurita French serradella 20kg/ha drilled 342
3 Margurita French serradella 40kg/ha broadcast & animals 234
4 Margurita French serradella 40kg/ha drilled 414
5 Margurita French serradella 80kg/ha drilled 541
6 Yellow serradella 40kg/ha drilled 98

Pod yield kg/ha


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Observed trial site soil information
Trial site soil testing
Not specified
Soil conditions
Trial site Soil texture
Badgingarra, WA Not specified
Derived trial site soil information
Australian Soil Classification Source: ASRIS
Trial site Soil order
Badgingarra, WA Chromosol
Soil Moisture Source: BOM/ANU
Average amount of water stored in the soil profile during the year, estimated by the OzWALD model-data fusion system.
Year Badgingarra WA
2010 147.5mm
2009 176.1mm
2008 192.9mm
2007 135.2mm
2006 142.1mm
2005 169.7mm
2004 128.0mm
2003 144.9mm
2002 140.2mm
2001 128.6mm
2000 161.9mm
National soil grid Source: CSIRO/TERN
NOTE: National Soil Grid data is aggregated information for background information on the wider area
Actual soil values can vary significantly in a small area and the trial soil tests are the most relevant data where available

Soil properties

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Climate

Derived climate information

No observed climate data available for this trial.
Derived climate data is determined from trial site location and national weather sources.

Badgingarra WA

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Some data on this site is sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology

SILO weather estimates sourced from https://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/silo/
Jeffrey, S.J., Carter, J.O., Moodie, K.B. and Beswick, A.R. (2001). Using spatial interpolation to construct a comprehensive archive of Australian climate data , Environmental Modelling and Software, Vol 16/4, pp 309-330. DOI: 10.1016/S1364-8152(01)00008-1.

Trial report and links

2010 trial report



Trial last modified: 09-07-2019 09:21am AEST