Dr Derrick MootProfessor of Plant Science

AgronomyLucerne

Windwhistle19th November 2014

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Dry matter yield and botanical composition of the ‘MaxClover’ grazing experiment at Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand

PHOTO DIARY - 2002/03 to 2010/11

Funded by:Prepared by: DJ Moot; A Mills; RJ Lucas; KM Pollock; M SmithLincoln University Dryland Pastures Research Team

The ‘MaxClover’ Grazing Experiment was established at Lincoln University, Canterbury in Feb 2002.

There were six paddocks of each of the six pasture types. This gave 36 individual plots of 0.05 ha each.

Measurements of yield and botanical composition began in Sept 2002 and continued until June 2011.

No nitrogen fertiliser or irrigation was applied to any pasture over the nine years. Other nutrients (S, P) and lime were applied in response to annual soil tests.

Annual soil test results can be found on the ‘MaxClover’ page at www.lincoln.ac.nz/dryland

No irrigation was applied. Annual rainfall ranged from 490 to 770 mm and the mean is about 630 mm/yr at this location.

Rainfall is variable and unpredictable, particularly from September to March when potential evapotranspiration exceeds rainfall leading to the development of soil moisture deficits.

General information

Rep 6

Rep 5

Rep 1

Rep 2

Rep 3

Rep 4

Shelter belt

LucLuc

C + W

C + S

R + W

Luc

C

+ Cc

C + C

cLuc

C + B

C + S

C + C

c

C + S

C + S

C + B

C + W

C + C

cR

+ W

R

+ WR

+ WR

+ WC

+ Cc

C + B

C + W

C + W

C + W

C + S

R + W

LucC

+ B

C

+ BC

+ BC

+ Cc

LucC

+ WC

+ S12

1824

3630

6

1016

22

3529

511

1723

Shelter belt

3327

39

1521

3428

4

713

19

3226

28

1420

3125

1

N

B Bolta balansa clover(3.5 kg/ha)

C Vision cocksfoot (4kg/ha, reps 1-4)

(2kg/ha, reps 5 & 6)Cc Endura caucasian clover

(5.9 kg/ha) Luc Kaituna lucerne

(5.7 kg/ha)R Aries AR1 ryegrass

(10 kg/ha) S Denmark sub clover

(10 kg/ha)W Demand white clover

(3 kg/ha)

Dimensions Area22 x 23m 0.05 ha

Plot sizes

(Reps 5 & 6 sown autumn, 2003)

Dryland4 clovers + cocksfoot

v R/W v Luc(Reps 1 - 4 sown Feb, 2002)

Notes:Plot numbers (1-36) are indicated for each plot.

The plan (not to scale) has been rotated so it has the same orientation as the aerial photo on the next page.

The ‘MaxClover’ Grazing experiment in paddock H19 at Lincoln University

RG/WcLucerneCF/SubCF/BalansaCF/CcCF/Wc

Grazing management

Lucerne was always rotationally grazed.

Grass-based pastures underwent a period of set stocking, short (2-paddock) or intermediate (3-paddock) rotational grazing in early spring before being rotationally grazed in a six paddock rotation until insufficient feed supply led to destocking of the pastures (drought or low winter temperatures).

Pastures were generally destocked in winter when there was insufficient feed. This simulated a commercial farm system when sheep would be removed to graze winter forage crops or a smaller area of the farm set aside for winter grazing.

For pastures with annual clovers (sub or balansa) stock were removed to allow re-seeding. The timing differed as pastures were closed sequentially as the rotation progressed.

When necessary, ewes were used to hard graze annual clover pastures in early autumn to open the sward in preparation for the germination of annual clover seedlings after autumn rains.

0

300

600

900

1200

1500(a) CF/Sub (b) CF/Bal (c) CF/Wc

Tota

l ann

ual L

W p

rodu

ctio

n (k

g/ha

)

0

300

600

900

1200

1500(e) RG/Wc(d) CF/Cc (f) Luc

04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/1103/0402/03

Not

det

erm

ined

Not

det

erm

ined

Not

det

erm

ined

Not

det

erm

ined

Not

det

erm

ined

Not

det

erm

ined

04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/1103/0402/03 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/1103/0402/03

Spring Summer Autumn

Mills et al. 2014b

Total spring LWt production

04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/1103/0402/03

CF/SubCF/BalCF/WcCF/CcRG/WcLuc

Not

det

erm

ined

Spr

ing

LWt (

kg/h

a)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

Mills et al. 2014b

Sum

mer

LW

t (kg

/ha)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

Total summer LWt production

04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/1103/0402/03

CF/SubCF/BalCF/WcCF/CcRG/WcLuc

Not

det

erm

ined

Mills et al. 2014b

Aut

umn

LWt (

kg/h

a)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

Total autumn LWt production

04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/1103/0402/03

CF/SubCF/BalCF/WcCF/CcRG/WcLuc

Not

det

erm

ined

Mills et al. 2014b

Yield and composition of six dryland pastures over nine growth seasons

• Lucerne produced more DM than all grass based pastures in most years.

• Its tap-root enabled access to water from lower soil layers but it also used water more efficiently than the grass based pastures - especially in spring.

• CF/Sub clover was the highest yielding grass based pastures in Years 6-9.

• Yields of all pastures declined over time.

Mills et al. 2014a

Date

Jul02 Jan03 Jul03 Jan04 Jul04 Jan05 Jul05 Jan06 Jul06 Jan07 Jul07 Jan08 Jul08 Jan09 Jul09 Jan10 Jul10 Jan11 Jul11

Tota

l ann

ual a

ccum

ulat

ed D

M y

ield

(t D

M/h

a/y)

0

5

10

15

17.8

12.9

10.5 9.8

8.9

13.1

11.5

10.5

8.4

18.5

11.2

10.0 9.0

11.5

10.0

8.0

17.4

10.810.0

8.4

14.0

11.2

9.0

7.1

14.0

9.0

6.6

5.2

Year 12002/03

Year 32004/05

Year 42005/06

Year 52006/07

Year 62007/08

Year 72008/09

Year 22003/04

Year 82009/10

Year 92010/11

12.8

9.5

8.4

6.7

12.9

8.7

5.8

461 mm 493 mm 635 mm 601 mm 643 mm 651 mm 767 mm 612 mm 602 mm

Figure 1. Total annual accumulated dry matter production

Rainfall

CF/SubCF/Bal CF/Wc CF/Cc RG/Wc Luc

Moot 2012

Summary of yields in Figure 1

• RG/Wc yield declined from 10.5 to 6.6 t/ha in Year 9.

• Lucerne yield was over 17 t/ha in 3 years and 12.9 t/ha in Year 9.

• CF/Sub yield declined from 12 t/ha to 8.7 t/ha in Year 9.

• CF/Wc, CF/Cc, CF/Bal yields were lower than CF/Sub in most years.

Growth season1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Prop

ortio

n of

sow

n co

mpo

nent

s

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11

All the cocksfoot pastures lost sown components at about 3% per annum

The perennial ryegrass/white clover pasture lost RG+Wc at about 10% per annum

Mills et al., 2014a

Figure 2. Change in the proportion of originally sown pasture components (grass + clover) over time

Summary of Figure 2

• After 9 years about 10% of the RG/Wc pasture was from originally sown species compared with about 60% in the cocksfoot based pastures. Lucerne (not shown) was about 85% pure due to winter weed control.

• In Years 1-3 the RG/Wc pastures maintained a high proportion of ryegrass and white clover. Most experiments only run for 3 years – this long-term experiment shows how this pasture deteriorated from Year 4 to Year 9.

• By Year 5-6 only about half the yield in RG/Wc pastures is from the sown species. Ideally pasture renewal would be recommended at this point.

• By Year 9 only about 10% of the 6.6 t DM/ha that was produced was from RG or Wc.

• For cocksfoot, sown pasture species decreased by about 3% per year. This meant after 9 years about 60% of the total yield produced by the four cocksfoot based pastures was from the originally sown pasture species.

• Cocksfoot was persistent but pasture vigour had declined. These pastures did not require renovation but had the potential for increased production. We recommend overdrilling in autumn with 10 kg/ha sub clover plus 1 kg/ha white clover to increase clover content and nitrogen fertility which would stimulate production from the existing cocksfoot component.

Unsown species <5% in Year 1 ….…>45% in Year 6RG/Wc pastures

Annual grassesTaprooted dicot weeds

20 kg DM/ha/mmGrass only

13 kg DM/ha/mm

Lucerne

Spring WUE

Water use (mm)0 100 200 300

Accu

mul

ated

DM

(t/h

a)

0

2

4

6 28 kg DM/ha/mmGrass/clover

Moot et al. 2008

Lucerne Objectives

• Describe management to maximise production, quality and persistence

• Describe key establishment issues

• Examples of lucerne on farm.

Development:is the ‘age’ or maturity of the regrowth crop e.g. leaf appearance, flowering

Growth:is dry matter accumulation as a result of light interception and photosynthesis

Growth and development are both influenced by environmental signals

The canopy: the energy capture device

Spring Feb

Jan

Vegetative growth

Mean temperature (oC)0 8 12 16

Gro

wth

rate

(kg

DM

/ha/

d)

0

40

80

120

AutumnJuly

Moot et al. 2003

Experiment 2flexible grazing

25 days resting

3 days grazing

38 days resting

4 days grazing

What’s going on down there?

Partitioning to roots

A S O N D J F M A

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

Tap

root

dry

wei

ght (

t/ha)

Month

42-day

Moot et al. 2003

28-day

Spring

Growing point at the top of the plant

Seasonal grazing management

• 1st rotation aided by root reserves to produce high quality vegetative forage.

• can graze before flowers appear (~1500 kg DM/ha) ideally ewes and lambs but

Rotation 1 Pre-grazePlot 1 (21/9/07) 2.3 t DM/ha20-25 cm tall

DateJul07 Sep07 Nov07 Jan08 Mar08 May08 Jul08

Mon

thly

rain

fall

(mm

)

DM

Yie

ld (t

/ha)

454

0

1

2

3

4

5

0

100

200

300

400

4

32

1

45

6

321

4

5 6

3

21

45

6

325

16

32

4

5

1

6

2 56

1

MaxClover – 38-42 day rotation

Moot & Smith 2011Practical Lucerne Management Guide

Rotation 2 Pre-grazePlot 1 (2/11/07, 38 d) 2.9 t DM/ha35-40 cm tall

5th September 2011 – Cave Sth Canterbury

• Spring 14 ewes plus twins/ha

• Summer 70 lambs/ha

• Ideally 7-14 days maximum on any one paddock

• Less intensive systems – don’t open the canopy

Stocking rates in New Zealand

Spring grazing

Spring/summer (Nov-Jan)

Seasonal grazing management

• Priority is stock production (lamb/beef/deer)

• graze 6-8 weeks solely on lucerne

• 5-6 paddock rotation stocked with one class of stock (7-10 days on)

• allowance 2.5-4 kg DM/hd/d – increase later in season

14 ewes + twins/ha

High numbers for 7-10 days

Fibre and salt

Maximize reliable spring growth – high priority stock

Early autumn (Feb-April)

Seasonal grazing management

⇒ build-up root reserves for spring growth and increase stand persistence

• terminal drought ⇒ graze standing herbage

• allow 50% flowering

• long rotation (42 days) somewhere between Jan and end of May.

Rotation 4 Pre-graze Plot 6 (28/2/08)

2.0 t DM/ha produced in 51 d

Autumn = flowering plantsBut don’t flush on this!

Leaves

Stem

0 1 2 3 4 5

ME

(MJ/

kg D

M)

0

4

8

12

16

Yield (t DM /ha)

Metabolisable energy of lucerne

Brown & Moot 2004

• Clostridial bacteria: vaccinate

• Cobalt: vitamin B12 injection

• Worm haven: Camping on small area – river edge?

• Avoid flushing if: leaf spots or flowering lucerne - new regrowth or tops only are O.K.

Animal health

• Redgut: problem on high quality feeds – fibre

• Bloat: cattle more than sheep – capsules

• Na def. (0.03%): salt licks/fence-line weeds/pasture

• Require 0.11% Na - sheep/beef/dairy

Animal health

Lucerne/grass mixes

Early spring

Plot 1 - Luc

Plot 2 – Luc/CF

Date

Jul Nov Mar Jul Nov Mar Jul

Acc

umul

ated

tota

l LW

t pro

duct

ion

(kg/

ha)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

LucLuc/Brome Luc/CF

Ewes Ewes

E&LWeaned

lambEwe

hogget E&L

RH

Weanedlamb Ewes

Ramhogget

Total Accumulated LWt production

2012/13 2013/14

Date

Jul12 Sep12 Nov12 Jan13 Mar13 May13 Jul13 Sep13 Nov13 Jan14 Mar14 May14 Jul14

Tota

l acu

mul

ated

yie

ld (k

g D

M/h

a)

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000Luc(-) Luc/Brome Luc/CF

DM Yield

Plot 2Luc/CF24 Oct 2012

Plot 10Luc/CF17 Oct 2012

Lucerne/cocksfoot mix – Sept 2013

Plot 3Luc/brome24 Oct 2012

Plot 11Luc/brome17 Oct 2012

Plot 7Luc/brome11 Oct 2013

Plot 17Luc/brome14 Nov 2013

3 Feb 2014

3 Feb 2014Luc/CF

3 Feb 2014Luc/brome

3 Feb 2014Luc

Soils - deepest free draining soils- pH 6.0- RG/Wc fertility

Sowing - 8-10 kg/ha- 10-25 mm- peat inoculated 8-10 kg/ha- spring or autumn- cultivated/direct drilled (DAP)

Establishment

What a root nodule looks like

Engine room for N-fixation

Lucerne root ~8 months after sowing

> 1.5 m length

Autumn Spraying

Timing is CriticalMost important tool

Glyphosate, granstar, penetrant

Key Results Conserve soil moistureKill mass root systems

Kearney et al. 2010

Drilling seed with fertiliserDirect drilling = seed + fertiliser

Hills Creek StationSown 4/11/2008Photo taken 5/11/2010

Over 60,000 ha sown and doubling of lucerne seed sales over 10 years

“35% Rate of return on investment”

Established 2007 LU – Templeton silt loam

Coated ‘Grasslands Kaituna’ lucerne.

Four sowing dates• 21 February, • 2 March, • 16 March and • 30 March

Four sowing rates• Equivalent to bare seed @ 7, 10, 13 and 16 kg/ha

Sowing rate and date

Moot et al. 2012

Sown seed & plant population over time

Sowing rate of coated seed (kg/ha)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

SeedFeb-Mar

2007

EmergeAutumn

2007

Sep'07Year 1

Aug'08Year 2

Aug'09Year 3

Aug'10Year 4

Aug'11Year 5

Aug'12Year 6

Seed

or p

lant

s/m

2 7 10 13 16

LSDLSD

Moot et al. 2012

Seedling lucerne yield to early JuneDM

yie

ld (k

g/ha

)

Coated seed rate: kg/ha

0

500

1000

21 February 02 March 16 March 30 MarchSowing date (2007)

7 10 13 16

LSD

Moot et al. 2012

Sown 30 Mar 2007Sown 21 Feb 2007

Weeds present @ 09 October 2007 (Year 1)

Annual yield in relation to sowing dateAn

nual

DM

yie

ld (t

/ha) Sowing date (2007)

0

5

10

15

Stand age Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

21 Feb 02 Mar 16 Mar 30 Mar SEM

Moot et al. 2012

Annual yield in relation to sowing rateAn

nual

DM

yie

ld (t

/ha) Lucerne seed rate: kg/ha

0

5

10

157 10 13 16 SEM

Stand age Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Moot et al. 2012

Ashley Dene, January 2012

Sim 2014

Volumetric water content (mm3/mm3)

0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3

Dep

th (m

)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

~115 mm

Drained upper limitLower limit

1) Lismore stony silt loam

Sim 2014

Volumetric water content (mm3/mm3)

0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4

Dep

th (m

)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

~325 mm

DULLL; lucerne

2) Wakanui silt loam

Sim 2014

Iversen 12, January 2012

Regrowth (year 2)

Seedling

Sowing date

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

Tota

l ann

ual y

ield

(t D

M/h

a)

0

5

10

15

20

25

0

2

4

6

8

10Establishment

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

Year Two

Ashley Dene

Iversen Field

17 kg DM/dayR2 = 0.88

13 kg DM/dayR2 = 0.60

80 kg DM/dayR2 = 0.98

50 kg DM/dayR2 = 0.95

Delayed sowing cost

yield

Sim 2014

Taproot mass

Sown: February ~ October

Sampled: June

Sim 2014

Conclusions from establishment

• Spring sow - October

• Yield in year one is lower due to partitioning

• Plant population self thins over time

• Sow on deep soils

Irrigation

• Before sowing to encourage root growth

• When the canopy is closed to reduce soil evaporation and weed growth

• Large amounts (50 mm) infrequently rather than small (15 mm) amounts frequently

• Fallow – dry soil vs wet soil

Fertilizer

• Higher requirement from cutting than grazing– 2% K = 20 kg/ha/t DM removed

• 50% K super = 80 kg/ha/t DM removedOr• KCL = 40 kg/ha/t DM removed + P and S from super

Case study – Bonavaree farm, MarlboroughOver grazed – high erosion risk

Avery et al. 2008

Year1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Ann

ual r

ainf

all (

mm

)

225

275

325

375

425

475

525

575

625

675

675

725

775

825

875

Annual rainfall at ‘Bonavaree’

Long-term Average

Salt bush

Young lucerne

Chemically fallowed land

‘Bonavaree’ production change over 10 years

2002 2012 ChangeLand area (ha) 1100 1800 64%

Sheep numbers 3724 4158 12%

Lambing (%) 117 145 24%

Lamb weights (kg) 13.3 19 43%

Lamb sold (kg) 38324 74460 94%

Wool (kg) 18317 20869 14%

Sheep:cattle 70:30 50:50

Gross trading profit (ha) $317 $792 149%

Moot & Avery 2013

The website…

www.lincoln.ac.nz/dryland

Info on:• Current projects• Field day presentations• Scientific publications• FAQs• Postgraduate study

Conclusions

• Lucerne growth rate is seasonal based on storage and remobilization of reserves

• Lucerne can be grazed or cut and carried based on yield – not time of flowering

• Replace nutrients removed through cut and carry (K)

• Minimize soil evaporation by timing of irrigation

Dryland Pastures Blog: http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/conversation/drylandpastures/

References & LinksDryland pastures website: http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/drylandDryland Pastures blog: http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/conversation/drylandpastures/MaxClover photo diary (PDF 18.7 MB)

Avery, D., Avery, F., Ogle, G. I., Wills, B. J. and Moot, D. J. 2008. Adapting farm systems to a drier future. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association, 70, 13-18.Brown, H. E. and Moot, D. J. 2004. Quality and quantity of chicory, lucerne and red clover production under irrigation. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association,

66, 257-264.Kearney, J. K., Moot, D. J. and Pollock, K. M. 2010. On-farm comparison of pasture production in relation to rainfall in Central Otago. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland

Association, 72, 121-126.Mills, A., Lucas, R. J. and Moot, D. J. 2014a. ‘MaxClover’ Grazing Experiment: I. Annual yields, botanical composition and growth rates of six dryland pastures over nine years.

Grass and Forage Science, In Press (DOI 10.1111/gfs.12132).Mills, A., Lucas, R. J. and Moot, D. J. 2014b. ‘MaxClover’ Grazing Experiment. II. Sheep liveweight production from six grazed dryland pastures over eight years. New Zealand

Journal of Agricultural Research, XX, XXX-XXX (In Press).Moot, D. J. 2012. An overview of dryland legume research in New Zealand. Crop and Pasture Science, 63, 726–733.Moot, D. J. and Avery, D. 2013. Sustainable intensification of livestock grazing systems in low rainfall regions of New Zealand. In: First International Conference on Global Food

Security, 29 September - 2 October 2013, Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands. Elsevier Ltd. p O3.O3 (4 pgs).Moot, D. J., Brown, H. E., Pollock, K. and Mills, A. 2008. Yield and water use of temperate pastures in summer dry environments. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland

Association, 70, 51-57.Moot, D. J., Brown, H. E., Teixeira, E. I. and Pollock, K. M. 2003. Crop growth and development affect seasonal priorities for lucerne management. In: D. J. Moot (ed). Legumes

for Dryland Pastures Proceedings of a New Zealand Grassland Association Inc Symposium held at Lincoln University, 18-19 November, 2003. Christchurch: New Zealand Grassland Association, 201-208.

Moot, D. J., Pollock, K. M. and Lewis, B. 2012. Plant population, yield and water use of lucerne sown in autumn at four sowing rates. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association, 74, 97-102.

Moot, D. J. and Smith, M. 2011. Practical Lucerne Management Guide. 9 pp. http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/Documents/Dryland-Pasture-Research/presentations/Lucerne-management-guide-Col.pdf.

Sim, R. E. 2014. Water extraction and use of seedling and established dryland lucerne crops. PhD thesis, Lincoln University, Lincoln, Canterbury. 264 pp.