C. Matthew

Sward structural characteristics and herbage accumulation of Panicum maximum cv. Mombaça subjected to rotational stocking managements

Grazing strategies promote changes in sward structure that can affect patterns of herbage accumulation and sward flexibility to management. This experiment evaluated sward structural characteristics and herbage accumulation of Mombaca guinea grass (Panicum maximum Jacq. cv. Mombaca) subjected to rotational stocking managements. Treatments involved grazing when swards reached either 95 or 100% interception of the incident light (LI), to post-grazing heights of 30 and 50 cm, and were allocated to 2,000 m2 paddocks according to a randomised complete block design in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with four replications, from January 2001 to February 2002. Sward canopy changed from a vertical to a more horizontal orientation as the light interception area index and height increased from post to pre-grazing. Leaf canopy height pre-grazing was stable throughout the year and around 90 and 115 cm for the 95% and 100% LI treatments respectively, indicating a potential for development and use of target-based grazing management practices. Herbage mass pre and post-grazing was lower for the 95% than the 100% LI treatments, but with higher proportion of leaf and lower proportions of stem and dead material. Treatment effects on herbage accumulation were cumulative and became more evident as the experiment progressed, with up to 6 t ha-1 DM advantage to the 95/30 treatment. Although based on a single year experiment, grazing management should aim for low herbage mass during the transition period from winter to spring in order to allow fast recovery of swards and favour herbage accumulation during the following growing season.

The effects of salinity and osmotic stress on barley germination rate: sodium as an osmotic regulator

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Seed germination is negatively affected by salinity, which is thought to be due to both osmotic and ion-toxicity effects. We hypothesize that salt is absorbed by seeds, allowing them to generate additional osmotic potential, and to germinate in conditions under which they would otherwise not be able to germinate. METHODS Seeds of barley, Hordeum vulgare, were germinated in the presence of either pure water or one of five iso-osmotic solutions of polyethylene-glycol (PEG) or NaCl at 5, 12, 20 or 27 °C. Germination time courses were recorded and germination indices were calculated. Dry mass, water content and sodium concentration of germinating and non-germinating seeds in the NaCl treatments at 12 °C were measured. Fifty supplemental seeds were used to evaluate the changes in seed properties with time. KEY RESULTS Seeds incubated in saline conditions were able to germinate at lower osmotic potentials than those incubated in iso-osmotic PEG solutions and generally germinated faster. A positive correlation existed between external salinity and seed salt content in the saline-incubated seeds. Water content and sodium concentration increased with time for seeds incubated in NaCl. At higher temperatures, germination percentage and dry mass decreased whereas germination index and sodium concentration increased. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that barley seeds can take up sodium, allowing them to generate additional osmotic potential, absorb more water and germinate more rapidly in environments of lower water potential. This may have ecological implications, allowing halophytic species and varieties to out-compete glycophytes in saline soils.

Distribution and bioavailability of copper in farm effluent

Effluent and sludge samples from a number of dairy and piggery units in the North Island of New Zealand were collected and analysed for free ionic-copper (Cu(2+)) and organically-complexed Cu. The bioavailability of sludge-Cu was examined using microbial respiration and plant growth experiments. Microbial respiration was measured at various levels of Cu (0-1000 mg kg(-1)), added as copper sulfate (CuSO(4)) and sludge-Cu, using a Gilson differential respirometer. A glass house experiment was conducted to examine the transformation of Cu in soils and its subsequent uptake by ryegrass pasture. Three Cu sources were used that included fast-release CuSO(4), slow-release copper oxide (CuO) and Cu-enriched sludge. The pasture samples were analysed for Cu concentration. The transformation of Cu in the soil was monitored by analysing the soil samples for various fractions of Cu. The effluent and sludge samples collected from farms which regularly used Cu to treat lameness in dairy cattle and as a growth promoter in swine contained higher concentration of Cu. The total Cu concentration ranged from approximately 0.1 to 1.55 mg l(-1) and from 0.5 to 10.5 mg l(-1) in the piggery and diary effluent, respectively. The corresponding values for the sludge samples were 3.0-526 and 25-105 mg kg(-1). Most of the Cu in both the effluent and solid sludge material was organically complexed. The respiration measurements indicated that sludge-Cu was less toxic to soil microbial activity than CuSO(4). The results from the glass house experiment indicated that increasing the level of Cu applied through fertilisers and sludge increased Cu concentration in plants. At the same rate of application, plants took up less Cu from sludge and CuO than from CuSO(4). There was, however, a greater translocation of Cu from root to shoot at the highest rate of Cu through sludge application. The Cu fractionation study indicated that there was greater accumulation of organic bound Cu in the sludge-treated soil than the fertiliser-treated soil.

Effect of spring grazing management on perennial ryegrass and ryegrass‐white clover pastures

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of timing and duration of lax spring grazing on tiller dynamics in perennial ryegrass swards, with and without white clover. Two periods of lax grazing—short release (SR) from 26 October to 8 December and long release (LR) from 15 September to 8 December—were compared with a conventional hard grazing—early control (EC). These treatments were applied to swards of perennial ryegrass, with and without white clover, and grazed by sheep. Tiller weight, tiller population density, tiller appearance and death, and stolon population were analysed in a factorial design with three (Experiment 1) and four (Experiment 2) replicates. Tiller weight was increased during the reproductive period, particularly in SR and LR treatments. Also, tiller appearance rate increased in all treatments from September to late January, and was particularly high late in December after grazing of the apices of the main group of reproductive tillers. Lax grazing management ...

Tiller dynamics of perennial ryegrass cultivars derived from different New Zealand ecotypes: effects of cultivar, season, nitrogen fertiliser, and irrigation

A field study was made of the tiller dynamics of the New Zealand perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) cultivars Grasslands Ruanui, selected from a Hawkes Bay ecotype, and Ellett, selected from the Mangere ecotype. The work tested whether nitrogen (N) fertiliser or irrigation (Irr) could manipulate the persistence strategies of these morphologically distinct perennial ryegrass ecotypes, represented by these cultivars. Tiller births and deaths, and tiller survival, were monitored over 2 years, under rotational grazing by dairy cows. Patterns of cultivar tiller birth and death were similar. Much of the temporal change in tiller population density was shown to be a response to increasing or decreasing herbage mass associated with seasonal feed surplus or deficit. The probability of tiller survival between observation dates varied markedly with date, and was lowest in autumn. The cultivar effect on tiller survival was small but a significant (P < 0.05) cultivar × date interaction was detected, with survival probability for Ellett tending to be higher than for Grasslands Ruanui in March–April 1997 but lower from July 1997 until March 1998. A cohort effect on tiller survival was also identified, in that tillers formed in January, July, and August 1997 had lower survival probability than those formed at other times. N-treated plots produced 34% more tillers than did untreated plots, and irrigation had no effect on overall tiller density. N and Irr treatments had variable effects on tiller survival. Size density compensation theory and analysis of survival probability are introduced to aid the interpretation of tiller dynamics data.

Perennial ryegrass breeding in New Zealand: a dairy industry perspective

Abstract. Genetic improvement programs for livestock and pasture plants have been central to the development of the New Zealand (NZ) pastoral industry. Although genetic improvement of livestock is easily shown to improve animal production on-farm, the link between genetic improvement of pasture plants and animal production is less direct. For several reasons, gains in farm output arising from improved plant performance are more difficult to confirm than those arising from livestock improvement, which has led to some debate in the livestock industries about which plant traits to prioritise in future breeding programs to deliver the greatest benefit. This review investigates this situation, with the aim of understanding how genetic improvement of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), the predominant pasture grass, may more directly contribute towards increased productivity in the NZ dairy industry. The review focuses on the dairy industry, since it is the largest contributor to the total value of NZ agricultural exports. Also, because rates of pasture renewal are greater in the dairy industry compared with the sheep and beef industries, genetic gain in pasture plants is likely to have the greatest impact if the correct plant traits are targeted. The review highlights that many aspects of ryegrass growth and ecology have been manipulated through breeding, with evidence to show that plant performance has been altered as a result. However, it is not clear to what extent these gains have contributed to the economic development of the NZ dairy industry. There are opportunities for breeders and scientists to work together more closely in defining economic traits that positively influence pasture performance and to translate this information to objectives for breeding programs, systematically linking information on the measured traits of ryegrass cultivars to economic values for those traits to assist farmer decision-making regarding the most appropriate cultivars to use in their farm system, and better defining genotype × environment interactions in key productivity traits of modern ryegrass cultivars. Changes in priorities for investment of public- and industry-good funds in forage improvement research and development will be needed if these opportunities are to be captured.

Tiller size/density compensation in grazed Tifton 85 bermudagrass swards (1)

(3) Abstract - The objective of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of the tiller size/density compensation mechanism in Tifton 85 bermudagrass swards grazed by sheep under continuous stocking. Treatments corresponded to four sward steady state conditions (5, 10, 15, and 20 cm of sward surface height), maintained by sheep grazing. The experimental design was a complete randomized block with four replicates. Pasture responses evaluated include: tiller population density, tiller mass, leaf mass and leaf area per tiller, and herbage mass. Tiller volume, leaf area index, tiller leaf/stem ratio, and tiller leaf area/volume ratio were calculated and simple regression analyses between tiller population density and tiller mass were performed. Measurements were made in December, 1998, and January, April, and July, 1999. The swards showed a tiller size/density compensation mechanism in which high tiller population densities were associated with small tillers and vice-versa, except in July, 1999. Regression analyses revealed that linear coefficients were steeper than the theoretical expectation of -3/2. Increments in herbage mass were attributable to increases in tiller mass in December and January. Leaf area/volume ratio values of Tifton 85 tillers were much lower than those commonly found for temperate grass species.

Morphological and physiological effects of water deficit and endophyte infection on contrasting tall fescue cultivars

Abstract Morphological and physiological responses to water deficit of two tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) cultivars were compared in a glasshouse experiment and the effect, on those responses, of artificial infection of the tall fescue plants with two fungal endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum) strains was evaluated. The cultivars were Maris Kasba (MK), of Mediterranean origin, and El Palenque (EP), an Argentinian cultivar of temperate origin. The endophyte strains AgResearch isolate (AR501) and the Kentucky (KY31) wild type were compared with nil‐endophyte controls. Leaf growth rate of EP plants under water deficit was higher and leaf senescence rate lower than for MK plants (P < 0.05). MK plants showed a greater increase in the proportion of dead leaf tissue than EP plants as water deficit increased (P < 0.05). Stomatal conductance and lamina osmotic adjustment at low soil moisture were lower for MK than EP (P < 0.05). Endophyte‐infected plants had a lower dry weight and tiller number, but a higher net growth rate during water deficit treatments than endophyte‐free plants (P < 0.05). A significant cultivar × endophyte interaction (P < 0.05) was observed for many variables studied. This implies that any new endophyte strain should be evaluated in combination with the plant genotypes with which it is likely to be associated in commercial practice. MK‐KY31 and EP‐AR501 associations appeared to tolerate short‐term water deficit more effectively than other associations studied. There was evidence that the two endophyte strains studied had different physiological effects on their tall fescue host plants.

Effects of water deficit on Mediterranean and temperate cultivars of tall fescue

Two glasshouse experiments were carried out to evaluate the morphological and physiological responses to water deficit of Mediterranean and temperate tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) cultivars. In Expt 1, 3 cultivars were studied: 2 temperate cultivars, Grasslands Advance (GA) and El Palenque (EP); and a Mediterranean cultivar, Maris Kasba (MK). Water deficit was induced in containers of 4 plants of a single cultivar by withholding water. In Expt 2, plants of EP and MK were grown together in the same container and received water daily with gradation in intensity of water deficit achieved by varying the daily water ration per container. All cultivars in each experiment exhibited commonly reported responses to water deficit, characterised by diminished evaporative surface area and increased root : shoot ratio. The response of MK was primarily morphological and MK plants had smaller plant size, higher root : shoot ratio, and a lower growth rate compared with temperate cultivars. By contrast, response of temperate cultivars was primarily physiological; stomatal conductance of temperate cultivars was lower and these cultivars had a greater tendency for leaf lamina osmotic adjustment than MK under the most stressful water deficit conditions studied. The morphological adaptations of MK were very effective in delaying the onset of water deficit in Expt 1 when plants were grown with others of the same cultivar, but rendered MK plants uncompetitive and more susceptible to water deficit in Expt 2 where plants of MK where interspersed with plants of a temperate cultivar.

Application of canonical discriminant analysis, principal component analysis, and canonical correlation analysis as tools for evaluating differences in pasture botanical composition

Abstract The application of three multivariate analysis techniques (canonical discriminant analysis (CDA), principal component analysis (PCA), and canonical correlation analysis (CCA)) for evaluation of pasture botanical composition data is illustrated and discussed. CDA and PCA were used to describe differences in pasture botanical composition for different microsites within a pasture near Palmerston North, New Zealand. CCA could not be validly applied to this data set because a sampling strategy inappropriate for CCA had been used to collect the data. However, CCA is conceptually ideal for determining association between two groups of variables and CCA was used for a second data set from the Hawkes Bay region to establish association between differences in pasture botanical composition and differences in environmental variables. CCA identified a transition from white clover (Trifolium repens L.) to subterranean clover {Trifolium subterraneum L.) presence associated with decreasing rainfall, and a simila...