Pasture species for drought-prone lower slopes in the South Island high country

Abstract

One hundred and twenty one cultivars and accessions of conventional and alternative legume, grass and forb species have been assessed over a widely variable lower sunny face landscape mosaic within the semi-arid tussock grasslands. Results are presented for assessments carried out 7-8 years after planting. Caucasian clover, hairy canary clover, birdsfoot trefoil, crown vetch and luceme were the best adapted legume species. By contrast, conventional clover species performed poorly; red and alsike clovers all died and only a few plants of white and subterranean clovers have survived, all within the more favourable areas of the landscape. Cocksfoot, wheatgrass, smooth brome and tall fescue survived well across the landscape mosaic and showed good vigour and survival. Cocksfoot cultivars and accessions had the best combination of agronomic attributes. In contrast, the survival of all perennial ryegrasses, declined markedly since the 3rd year. These results have important implications for the future development of sustainable pastoral systems in drought-prone landscapes. Keywords dryland pasture species, legumes, grasses