Dry matter yield of six perennial legume species in response to lime over 3 years at Glenmore Station, Mackenzie Basin

A range of options exist to improve pasture in the South Island hill and high country. Pasture yield and the cost of seed, lime and fertiliser from 55 trial sites were used to calculate partial gross margins (GM) for a range of improvements on different slopes and aspects. On drillable land, for average rainfall <500 mm/ yr, pastures should be based on subterranean clover or perennial lupins. Lucerne can be used where root growth is not limited by soil depth. At 500-750 mm/yr rainfall, lucerne and perennial lupins, with subterranean or Caucasian clover, are viable. Where rainfall is >750 mm, lucerne and Caucasian, white and red clover can be sown. At similar rainfall, soil moisture is more limited on non-drillable hill compared with drillable land, and aspect must be considered. At <750 mm/yr on sunny aspects, clover, e.g., subterranean or balansa,are the best options, and shady areas can be improved with subterranean clover. Late winter application of 30-50 kg/ha nitrogen can be used on shady aspects with less than 750 /yr rainfall or sunny aspects with higher rainfall. For >750 mm/yr rainfall on shady aspects, pasture should be managed to maximise legume content, and over-sowing white clover should be considered.Keywords: Drillable, hill, aspect, legumes, rainfall

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Balansa clover yielded an average 2000 kg DM/ha/yr on one site with average rainfall of 630 mm/yr, which resulted in a partial GM of $210/ha/yr (Berenji et al, 2018). Although this performance was inadequate for flat land, based on its observed performance at Omarama Station (RT Subtill pers.…”

Section: Balansa Clovermentioning

confidence: 99%

What are the best pasture improvement options for different South Island hill and high-country environments?

Morton¹,

Moir²,

Moot³

2023

“…Low soil pH/high soil Al not only physically damages legume roots in the field, but also dramatically reduces the activity and ability of rhizobia to inoculate lucerne roots. A body of field work has been undertaken by Berenji et al (2015Berenji et al ( , 2017Berenji et al ( , 2018. These workers had particular focus on 'Russell' lupin and lucerne.…”

Section: Summary Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…New research at Lincoln University in the last decade has focused on improving the understanding of soil acidity and high Al concentrations in high and hillcountry environments. Research has included a series of field (Moir & Moot 2010Berenji et al 2015Berenji et al , 2017Berenji et al , 2018Maxwell et al 2016;Whitley et al 2016, Whitley 2018Whitley et al 2018;Hendrie et al 2018), climate-controlled (Whitley 2013;Schwass 2013;McDonald 2014;Keenan 2014;Rayner 2015;Maxwell et al 2016;Moir et al 2016) and soil survey (Whitley 2018;Che et al 2018)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil acidity and aluminium in South Island high and hill country: new data and future needs

Moir

Moot

Whitley

et al. 2018

Self Cite

Soil extractable aluminium (Al) concentrations can have a strong impact on the establishment, growth and persistence of pasture legumes. This has become clear in New Zealand high and hill-country, where legumes are scarce and failing to persist in acid soils with high Al levels. For the last decade a research programme has been conducted at Lincoln University focused on legume growth and persistence in acid, high Al concentration soils. Research has examined several aspects of soil acidity and Al toxicity and screened and evaluated a range of legume species, identifying several that show promise in their growth and persistence under acidic and high Al concentrations, in addition to harsh climatic environments. This paper summarises this extensive body of research and also suggests some future research topics for addressing the growing challenge of increasing soil acidity and soil Al faced by increasing numbers of producers.

“…Lucerne (Medicago sativa) and perennial ('Russell') lupin (Lupinus polyphyllus) can fix substantial levels of N 2 under suitable conditions in high-country farming systems on the South Island of New Zealand (NZ) (Black et al, 2014;Berenji et al, 2018). Annual yield and nutritive values are greater for lucerne than perennial lupin under optimal conditions, but the latter can grow in acidic soils with high levels of aluminium, which lucerne cannot tolerate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing genomic selection for dry matter yield in white clover

Griffiths

Ehoche²,

Arojju

et al. 2022

Genomic selection (GS) integrates DNA marker and trait data to develop a model that enables prediction of trait performance (genomic-estimated breeding values; GEBVs) based on genotype data alone. GS has been shown to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of breeding programmes, especially for complex traits such dry matter yield (DMY). DMY data were generated from a training population of 200 white clover half-sibling (HS) families assessed in multi-location field trials for two years. We generated a GS prediction model after integrating genotyping-by-sequencing marker data from parents of the HS families with the HS DMY data. We then compared two selection strategies: a conventional method where individuals were chosen randomly from the phenotypically top-ranked HS families (HSP); and another where GEBVs were used to select the best individual from the top-ranked HS families (APWFGS). The mean predicted DMY GEBVs of the selected plants, as well as the predicted response to selection, were compared with those of the base population. This study showed that, compared with conventional selection (HSP), incorporating genomic selection (APWGSHS) is predicted to double the increase in DMY and response to selection relative to the base population. Synthetic populations based on these selections have been generated and will be tested in a field trial to determine empirically the impact of genomic selection for a complex trait.