New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts
A visual procedure for estimating stolon length of white clover per unit area
in grazed pastures
R. M. JONES
G. A. BUNCH
CSIRO Tropical Agriculture
Meiers Rd
Indooroopilly
Queensland 4068, Australia
P. N. JONES
CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences
Brisbane
Queensland, Australia
Abstract Stolon length per unit area is a useful measurement
to make in studies of white clover, but is time consuming and seldom done in
routine sampling of grazing experiments. This study explored the possibility of
using a calibrated visual estimation technique to estimate stolon length per
unit area in a grazed pasture in south-east Queensland, Australia. Estimates
were made of stolon presence in 50 quadrats on a 1-5 scale on 4 different
occasions. These were converted to stolon length per unit area using a set of
10 standard quadrats which were estimated and then measured. The estimates on
the 50 quadrats were then compared with their true values. Estimates of stolon
length were very close to measured values and gave useful insight into seasonal
changes in stolon length that were not detected by measurements of stolon
presence/absence (% frequency). The procedure outlined could be readily
incorporated with routine measurements of presentation yield and botanical
composition made with the BOTANAL procedure.
Keywords white clover; Trifolium repens; stolons;
estimation; methods
New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 2000, Vol. 43: 291-294
0028-8233/00/4302-0291 $7.00/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand
2000
Short communication
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