Production from a drought-prone Northland pasture direct drilled with 3 grass cultivars

Abstract

Abstract A ryegrass/white clover dairy pasture on a volcanic soil was direct drilled with ‘Grasslands Nui’ perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) (15 kg/ha), ‘Grasslands Matua’ prairie grass (Bromus catharticus Vahl.) (40 kg/ha), and ‘Grasslands Mara’ phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.) (20 kg/ha) 3 days after the break of a 15-week drought. Seeds were drilled into 25 mm bands sprayed with either paraquat (0.22 kg a.i./ha) or glyphosate (2.88 kg a.i./ha), or into unsprayed pasture. Both herbicides reduced the growth of resident pasture within the sprayed bands, but Maru was the only sown species with a higher tiller density in sprayed than in unsprayed treatments after 28 days. Band sprayed herbicides had no effect on DM production of mown pasture in each of 2 years. Matua-sown pastures yielded 14% more DM than unsown control pasture, but Nui and Maru pastures had no significant effect on annual production.