scholarly journals N2-fixation and residual N effect of four legume species and four companion grass species

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Rasmussen ◽  
Karen Søegaard ◽  
Karin Pirhofer-Walzl ◽  
Jørgen Eriksen
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Legume Species ◽  
Residual N ◽  
Residual N Effect

The performance of young sheep grazing pastures sown to combinations of lucerne or subterranean clover with ryegrass or phalaris

1972 ◽  
Vol 12 (56) ◽  
pp. 240 ◽  
Author(s):  
KFM Reed ◽  
RW Snaydon ◽  
A Axelsen
Keyword(s):  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Legume Species ◽  
Sheep Grazing ◽  
Wool Production ◽  
High Production ◽  
Supplementary Feed ◽  
Stocking Rates ◽  
Clover Pasture

Young sheep were rotationally grazed, at two stocking rates, on pasture sown to combinations of two legume species (lucerne or subterranean clover) and two grass species (a mixture of annual and biennial ryegrass or phalaris) at Canberra. Liveweight gains were 45 per cent greater, and wool production was 10 per cent greater, on the lucerne dominant pasture (87 per cent lucerne) than on the grass dominant subterranean clover pasture (8 per cent subterranean clover). The differences were maximum during summer, but also occurred during spring. Mortality and supplementary feed requirement on grass dominant pasture was double that on lucerne pasture. Liveweight gains were 13 per cent greater on pasture sown to ryegrass than on pasture sown to phalaris. Sheep mortality was eight times greater on the phalaris than on the ryegrass pasture, and survival feed requirements at least double. The superior animal production from lucerne pasture was due mainly to the ability of lucerne to grow during periods of low rainfall and to maintain a high production of legume in the pasture.

Survey of the productivity, composition and estimated inputs of fixed nitrogen by pastures in central-western New South Wales

2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 1165 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Bowman ◽  
W. Smith ◽  
M. B. Peoples ◽  
J. Brockwell
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
New South ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Legume Species ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
South Wales

Total productivity and legume nitrogen fixation (N2 fixation) in dryland pastures were examined in a 2 year study (1999–2001) on 118 farms in central-western New South Wales. Pasture exclosure cages, placed at 217 on-farm sites, were harvested on 7 occasions and the foliage hand-sorted according to species in order to measure shoot dry matter (DM). The separated legume shoot material collected in spring 1999 (52 different legume samples) and 2000 (76 different legume samples) from a subset of representative pastures (41 cages on 28 different farms in 1999, 32 cages on 25 different farms in 2000) was also analysed for concentration of nitrogen (%N) and 15N natural abundance. These data were subsequently used to calculate the proportion of the legume shoot N derived from atmospheric N (%Ndfa), comparative measures of the relative efficiency of N2 fixation (kg N fixed/t DM accumulated) and the amounts of shoot N fixed (kg N/ha). The survey encompassed 8 common pasture types, and 5 others that were less common, ranging from native perennial grass pastures with little legume content to lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) pastures with and without companion clovers. Fifteen legume species were found in the pastures, some only occasionally. Lucerne and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) were the only perennials. Mean spring estimates of %Ndfa were similar in 1999 and 2000 for lucerne (72 and 81%, respectively), rose clover (T. hirtum All., 82 and 77%) and annual medics (Medicago spp., 89 and 86%). For the remaining 12 legume species, measures of %Ndfa ranged from 64 to 95% and averaged 83%. Shoot %N contents were greater for lucerne than for the other 14 legumes and this was reflected in the comparative measures of N2 fixation which ranged from 14.5 kg N/t DM for rose clover to 25.7 kg N/t DM for lucerne in 2000. The most productive pasture type comprised lucerne plus balansa clover [T. michelianum Savi var. balansae (Boiss.) Azn.], white clover or arrowleaf clover (T. vesiculosum Savi), but all pasture types that contained lucerne were highly productive. Spring was the most productive season and summer the least. Lucerne was overwhelmingly the most productive legume and was responsible for >83% of the fixed N in those pastures that contained both lucerne and other legumes. Lucerne productivity was approximately uniform throughout the year whereas, for other pastures, especially those based on rose clover or subterranean clover (T. subterraneum L.), there were sharp peaks in spring and little or no dry matter production over summer. The presence of lucerne in pastures significantly (P<0.05) reduced broadleaf weeds. It was concluded that, where there are requirements in central-western New South Wales agriculture for uniform forage production throughout the year and a high input of fixed N, lucerne is substantially superior to other species.

A novel approach to planting grass - legume pastures in the mixed farming zone of southern inland Queensland, Australia

2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (12) ◽  
pp. 1147 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Whitbread ◽  
C. A. Hall ◽  
B. C. Pengelly
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Panicum Maximum ◽  
Legume Species ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Lablab Purpureus ◽  
Plant Populations ◽  
Clitoria Ternatea ◽  
Novel Approach

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.

Symbiotic N2 fixation of various legume species along an altitudinal gradient in the Swiss Alps

2000 ◽  
Vol 32 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 1043-1052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja A. Jacot ◽  
Andreas Lüscher ◽  
Josef Nösberger ◽  
Ueli A. Hartwig
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Altitudinal Gradient ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Legume Species ◽  
Symbiotic N2 Fixation

Residual N effect of grazed white clover (Trifolium repens)/ryegrass (Lolium perenne) swards on subsequent yields of spring barley

1992 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Evans ◽  
T. A. Williams ◽  
S. A. Mason
Keyword(s):  
Plant Breeding ◽  
Lolium Perenne ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Trifolium Repens ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
Barley Cultivar ◽  
Residual Nitrogen ◽  
Breeding Station ◽  
Residual N ◽  
Residual N Effect

SUMMARYResidual nitrogen from white clover/ryegrass swards and ryegrass monocultures was quantified in terms of the barley yield obtained after ploughing the swards. Clover/ryegrass swards based on small and medium-leaved cultivars of white clover and ryegrass monocultures were grazed continuously by sheep for 3 years (1984–87) at the Welsh Plant Breeding Station, Aberystwyth, ploughed in the following spring (1988) and then sown with the spring barley cultivar Doublet. Yield of barley obtained after clover/ryegrass mixtures was 50% greater than barley harvested after ryegrass monocultures. Barley yield was 1·6 t/ha more following the white clover cultivars Gwenda and SI84 with ryegrass than following ryegrass monocultures.

scholarly journals Farmers’ agronomic and social evaluation of productivity, yield and N2-fixation in different cowpea varieties and their subsequent residual N effects on a succeeding maize crop

2007 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Adjei-Nsiah ◽  
Thom W. Kuyper ◽  
Cees Leeuwis ◽  
Mark K. Abekoe ◽  
Joseph Cobbinah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Social Evaluation ◽  
Maize Crop ◽  
Residual N ◽  
Cowpea Varieties

Residual N effect of long-term applications of cattle slurry using winter wheat as test crop

2018 ◽  
Vol 221 ◽  
pp. 257-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Suarez-Tapia ◽  
Ingrid K. Thomsen ◽  
Jim Rasmussen ◽  
Bent T. Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Cattle Slurry ◽  
Residual N ◽  
Residual N Effect

Selection of reference plants for 15N natural abundance assessment of N2 fixation by crop and pasture legumes in south-west Australia

1994 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
JS Pate ◽  
MJ Unkovich ◽  
EL Armstrong ◽  
P Sanford
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
15N Natural Abundance ◽  
Natural Abundance ◽  
Field Pea ◽  
Legume Species ◽  
Reference Species ◽  
Rooting Zone ◽  
South West ◽  
Reference Plants

The 15N natural abundance (S15N) of the shoot total N of a range of non-N2 fixing potential reference species was compared with that of nodulated field pea (Pisum sativum L.), narrow leafed lupin (Lupinus angustijolius L.) or subterranean clover (Trijolium subterraneum L.) across a range of field sites, to which N fertilizers had not been applied in the season of study. Shoot S15N values of reference species lay mostly within the range from +3 to +5%o and there was some evidence of lower S15N values in gramineaceous than dicotyledonous non-legume species. Continuous sampling within crops of each legume showed S15N values to differ consistently between and within potential reference species through the season. The S15N values of seedlings of four non legume species in a lupin crop were closer to that of soil N03-N (S15N = 4.2%o) than soil NH4-N (S15N = 7.9%0). Shoot S15N values of non-nodulated pea, lupin and subterranean clover, and a range of possible reference species all sand-cultured on a defined nitrate source (S15N = 7.5%), suggested little or no discrimination during utilization of nitrate. However, when four candidate reference species were sand cultured with nodulated actively fixing subterranean clover on the same nitrate source, the S15N of the ryegrass was lowered significantly below that of the NO3. Field plot comparisons of nine potential reference species with nodulated field pea showed certain species to resemble field pea more closely than others in terms of the S15N value of their shoots. Reference plants sampled within or well outside the rooting zone of an actively fixing legume (subterranean clover, field pea or lupin) showed significantly lower shoot S15N of mixed grass components when harvested in root contact with, as opposed to well distant from, subterranean clover. A similar effect was observed for barley within v. outside the rooting zone of pea, but no such effects were observed between capeweed and subterranean clover, pea and radish, or for any of five reference plants matched with lupin. The data are utilized to select appropriate reference plants for field assessments of N2 fixation under south-west Australian conditions.

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