Could finding just the right mix in a species-diverse pasture provide feed 365 days-a-year and eliminate the dreaded summer-autumn feed gap altogether?
That’s what Pasture365, a four-year, national Future Drought Fund project led by Deakin University with trial sites in our South West of WA, Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria is hoping to find out. The WA trials are coordinated by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and the University of Western Australia.
South West NRM Sustainable Agriculture Program Manager Peter Clifton recently visited one of the Pasture 365 trials now underway at the DPIRD Manjimup Horticultural Research Institute to find out more.
Higher rainfall regions located within the South West of WA continue to be identified by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a global drying hotspot.
And future climate scenarios predict an increase in the duration and severity of dry periods, making forward-thinking solutions to reducing the feed gap critical for farmers with grazing animals.
At the trial site in Manjimup, there are 10 treatments, each featuring different mixes of pastures replicated in four small plots.
Each plot has soil moisture probes to monitor temperature and humidity every 10cm to 80cm deep. The trial will test which combinations of the different species will perform better and at what times of the year they will make their best biomass contribution.
Pasture treatments common at trial sites in all states
Each treatment increases in complexity.
Mix 1: Perennial ryegrass and white clover;
Mix 6: Perennial ryegrass, continental cocksfoot, white clover, strawberry clover, red clover, chicory and plantain;
Mix 10: Perennial ryegrass, continental cocksfoot, Mediterranean cocksfoot, tall fescue, white clover, strawberry clover, red clover, lucerne, chicory, plantain, sheep’s burnet and two annual species Saia black oats and tillage radish.
Other treatments being tested in WA only
Mix 53: Annual Tetraploid ryegrass and subclover;
Mix 48: Annual Tetraploid ryegrass and subclover, crimson clover, arrowleaf clover;
Mix 50: Chicory, cocksfoot editerranean, cocksfoot continental, lucerne, plantain, raphnobrassica;
Mix 51: Cocksfoot mediterranean and tedera (legume);
Mix 52: Lotus corniculatus (Bird’s-foot trefoil), cocksfoot mediterranean (lower density) and Paspalum notatum (bahia grass);
Mix 65: Native grass (perennial) mix and subclover;
Mix 47: Perennial ryegrass, cocksfoot mediterranean, tall fescue continental and the annual clovers subclover, arrowleaf clover and balansa clover.
Observations so far from Manjimup
In the multimix, grasses, legumes and herbs are proving to be a very good combination – better than grass only or grass/clover only, and provides a balanced diet.
By November, Mix 53 and Mix 48 did about 7.7 t/ha compared to the others at 4 t/ha, but are still growing. However, pasture mixes with perennial species will continue providing forage out of season and annual production might be similar depending on climatic condition s in the next few months.
Insights from DPIRD Senior Principal Research Scientist (Forage Breeding and Agronomy) Dr Daniel Real
Species will differ in their pattern of seasonal growth, so to guide decisions on your choice of species, consider your soil type, your production system and when you will need the feed. For example: growing season shoulders, finishing calves, early green pick or a deferment paddock. Do you want to grow in winter and graze in the summer?
Preferably choose a paddock that is reasonably clean of weeds. If you expect a massive amount of annual ryegrass, newly sown perennial species will be outcompeted. Perennial drought tolerant species are slow to establish and will try to grow a deep root system in the early stages so they are prone to competition, especially from highly productive annual species.
Consider weed control in the first three-four months for all perennial species to make sure that they establish as well as possible.
