On-farm establishment of drought-tolerant pastures on the east coast of the North Island

Abstract

Seedling and tiller core measurements on 60 paddocks sown in autumn 1991 on the East Coast of the North Island were made to monitor the success of new pastures based on drought-tolerant grasses. Pastures sown into cultivated seedbeds were generally more successful than direct-drilled pastures, having higher content of sown species and less competition from volunteer perennial grasses. In paddocks sown with mixtures of tall fescue and Grasslands Wana cocksfoot, cocksfoot was becoming the dominant,grass, except in areas of paddocks with poor drainage. Cocksfoot establishment in oversown pastures was good, but tall fescue in these paddocks declined to low levels 19 months after sowing. White clover was well established in all classes of pasture, despite relatively low initial seedling numbers in direct drilled and oversown paddocks. In contrast, red clover content declined, particularly in directdrilled and oversown paddocks. Keywords: Dactylis glomerata, direct drilling, Festuca arundinacea, pasture establishment, Phalaris aquatica, oversowing