This paper evaluates a method of judging palatability to sheep of accessions of Eragrostu curvula. Scores of from 0 (not grazed) to 10 (completely grazed) are compared with measured herbage consumption and percentage consumption values on 5 occasions at Orange and on 3 occasions in each of 2 trials at Wagga Wagga, N.S.W. Allowing for differences in initial herbage availability, regressions of score ranks pooled over all assessments of the 3 trials explained 65, 62 and 66%, respectively, of the variation in leaf, stem and total herbage consumption ranks. Most of the variation in stem consumption, however, was due its availability rather than palatability. It was concluded that palatability could meaningfully be predicted from score ranks alone. Comparison of different observers' scores allocated after several grazings showed that observers were consistent in their ranking. The results demonstrate the usefulness and merits of the different methods of assessing palatability.
Relative palatability of 12 previously selected taxa of Eragrostis curvula complex was assessed using a visual rating scale of 0 (not grazed) to 10 (completely grazed). Visual ratings were converted to ranks and the most and least palatable lines were compared over 19 grazing assessments in trials at Wagga Wagga, Temora and Orange, New South Wales. Three highly palatable and 2 acceptably palatable accessions were identified. The importance of palatability in the E. curvula complex is discussed.
The palatability of 20 accessions of E. curvula collected from naturalised populations in New South Wales was compared on 7 occasions with 2 selected accessions previously found to be highly palatable. The experiment was conducted at Wagga Wagga, N.S.W., between January 198 1 and July 1983. The relative palatability of most accessions was substantially similar from rating to rating, despite differences in the extent to which the trial was grazed. Palatability was related to the agronomic group to which the accessions belonged. For the naturalised taxa, Curvula was ranked equal to Tall Chloromelas. but both were more palatable than Short Chloromelas. The naturalised accessions were all less palatable than the selected accessions. It was concluded that the selected accessions were sufficiently palatable to be well utilised in pastures by stock grazing at commercial stocking rates.
Experiments established 30 km north and 30 km south of Urana N.S.W. in 1980 and 198 1, on areas heavily infested with spiny burrgrass, showed that lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) varieties Consol and accession 4660 were more easily and reliably established than buffel grass or lucerne. Lovegrass persisted up to 1988 and continued to spread, despite 3 extremely dry summer periods and uncontrolled grazing. It achieved virtual control of spiny burrgrass after 4 years. Lucerne failed to persist in 3 out of 4 sowings, and only persisted where phosphorus had been applied. Lovegrass density was highest where fertiliser was not applied. Lovegrass can be recommended for controlling spiny burrgrass on infertile, sandy textured soils in low rainfall environments where the use of lucerne is uneconomic or its establishment and management are difficult.
Experiments were conducted to determine the effect of soil moisture level on yield, consumptive use of water and root development by sugar beets. The studies were made on areas with two water table depths to determine generally the extent to which sugar beets can use moisture in the moist zone immediately above a water table.
When sugar beets were allowed to remove 43, 75 and 95% of the available moisture in the root zone prior to irrigation, yields were 23.4, 22.0, and 16.9 tons per acre, respectively, on an experiment where plants could not obtain ground water. In a second experiment on an area with a water table at 4 to 4.5 feet below the soil surface, yields were 22.9 and 23.5 tons per acre when plants were allowed to extract 54 and 66%, respectively, of the available moisture prior to an irrigation. A third treatment not receiving irrigation, but drawing heavily on ground water, yielded 20.1 tons per acre.
Consumptive use of water for the growing season by sugar beets was 23.4, 22.5 and 19.0 inches, depending on whether 43, 75 or 95% of the available moisture was removed prior to an irrigation. The largest amount of water was lost from the surface foot of soil in all periods of measurement with progressively smaller amounts from deeper depths on the two wetter treatments. Moisture use was related to the depths containing available moisture in the dry treatment.
Moisture level had no effect on the rate of root extension or the shape of the commercial root.
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