FBG - Improving feed value of perennial grasses

Summary

The Fitzgerald Biosphere Group (FBG) is an NRM/Grower Group on the South Coast of Western Australia, whose members run sheep and/or cattle and cropping enterprises.

Between 2014 and 2016 three different ways of improving feed value of perennial grasses were trialled at three different sites; one in the mid to low rainfall zone (450 – 350 mm) and two in the high rainfall zone (600-450 mm).

Barley was successfully used as a cover crop to help establish Gatton Panic, which in turn raised both the quality and quantity of pasture production. Digestibility and energy increased marginally but the biggest gain was in the increased overall bulk yield compared with the annual pasture.
The equipment that provided the most successful establishment of Dalliup oats and Margarita Serradella into an eight-year-old kikuyu stand was knife points with double disk openers and press wheels. Serradella pasture established a better stand than oats, while soil disturbance instigated germination of clover seed in the seed bank.

Comparison of two legume species sown into a ten-year-old kikuyu stand showed bladder clover persisted slightly better than serradella. Although straight kikuyu pasture produced the highest feed quantity, it was only marginally higher indigestible fibre than other pasture compositions.
The key message from these trials is that the right combination of species, establishment methods and seasonal conditions are the determinants of success