New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts
Establishment response of 12 legumes to nitrogen fertiliser rate and placement
when direct drilled into Hieracium-infested, montane tussock
grasslands
R. F. WOODMAN*
W. L. LOWTHER+
R. P. LITTLEJOHN
AgResearch
Invermay Agricultural Centre
Private Bag 50034
Mosgiel, New Zealand
R. F. HORRELL
Lincoln Ventures
Lincoln University
P. O. Box 84
Lincoln, New Zealand
*Present address: 8 Beaconsfield Road, Portobello, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Abstract Field experiments were undertaken on two infertile
and acidic soils in the semi-arid Mackenzie Basin, South Island, New Zealand,
to determine the influence of fertiliser placement and rate of N application
(0, 15, or 30 kg N ha-1) on the establishment and growth of legumes
following overdrilling in spring in the presence or absence of glyphosate
herbicide spray. The legumes used were white clover (Trifolium repens),
red clover (T. pratense), zigzag clover (T. medium), alsike
clover (T. hybridum), Caucasian clover (T. ambiguum), birdsfoot
trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), lotus (L. pedunculatus), crown
vetch (Coronilla varia), and perennial lupin (Lupinus
polyphyllus). Seedling germination/emergence after nine weeks was
significantly lower when superphosphate was drilled with the seed rather than
20 mm below (17.2 and 19.4 seedlings m-1 row, respectively). Early
seedling numbers were also significantly lower when 15 or 30 kg N
ha-1 was drilled with the seed (17.2 compared with 13.8 and 9.5
seedlings m-1 row, respectively) but not when N was drilled 20 mm
below the seed. Seedling numbers declined in all treatments over summer, and 32
weeks after sowing, numbers were only significantly lower when 30 kg
ha-1 N was drilled with the seed (11.1 and 7.9 m-1,
respectively). Early seedling growth of legumes, apart from lupin, responded to
N, the largest increases occurring where N was drilled with the seed. Although
individual plant weight increases where N was drilled with the seed were still
evident 32 weeks after sowing, legume DM yields were not significantly affected
because of the lower establishment. Plant growth 32 weeks after sowing was
affected by competition from existing vegetation, and increases in individual
plant weight and legume DM yield from N occurred only where herbicide was
applied. Basal superphosphate was more effective when it was drilled with
rather than below the seed. The role of N fertiliser in the establishment of
legumes overdrilled into low fertility situations is discussed.
Keywords Overdrilling; legumes; establishment; nitrogen
fertiliser; Hieracium; strip seeder drill; herbicide; tussock
grasslands
New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 1998, Vol. 41: 53-63
0028-8233/98/4101-0053 $7.00/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand
1998
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (875K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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