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Slot‐seeding investigations
Author(s) -
Haggar R. J.,
Koch D. W.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
grass and forage science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1365-2494
pISSN - 0142-5242
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2494.1983.tb01621.x
Subject(s) - seeding , red clover , perennial plant , seedling , dry matter , agronomy , paraquat , productivity , zoology , biology , biochemistry , economics , macroeconomics
Red clover cv. Hungaropoly was slot‐seeded into a perennial ryegrass‐dominant sward in April 1979. Glyphosate and paraquat were applied separately as bandsprays each at two doses and at two band widths. Control plots were either slot‐seeded without a herbicide bandspray or received ±150 kg N ha −1 a −1 . Red clover establishment was assessed and amounts of dry matter (DM) and total N accumulated were measured at two harvests in 1979 and three harvests in 1980. Bandspraying increased seedling vigour and development and resulted in the eventual replacement of 1 t grass DM ha −1 by an equivalent amount of red clover. Of the treatment variables investigated, bandspray width had the greatest influence on red clover establishment and productivity. The slot‐seeded area, meaned for all treatments, produced a total of 6.40 and 13.16 t DM ha −1 in 1979 and 1980. This was estimated to be equivalent to the all‐grass sward receiving 112 kg N ha −1 a −1 during the second year of the experiment or 238 kg N ha −1 over the 2 years when measured in terms of N yield. Slot‐seeding overcomes several of the problems associated with conventional establishment of red clover.