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The influence of seed rate and pesticides on the establishment and growth of white clover slot‐seeded into a permanent pasture
Author(s) -
WILLIAMS E. D.
Publication year - 1984
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.1365-2494.1984.tb01682.x
Subject(s) - biology , sowing , pasture , seedling , molluscicide , agronomy , pesticide , horticulture , ecology , snail
The establishment and growth of white clover (cv. Grasslands Huia) was investigated in two experiments with seeds sown in slots cut in old permanent pasture in early May 1982. In the first experiment, fully protected from pests and diseases, either 50 (low), 100 (medium) or 200 (high) seeds were sown evenly per metre length of slot; 100 seeds were also sown in a clumped pattern unevenly. In the second experiment, the effects of various combinations of molluscicide, insecticide and fungicide were investigated. Nine weeks after sowing there were 27, 37, 34 and 62 seedlings m −1 on the low, medium even, medium uneven and high seed‐rate treatments, representing percentage establishments of 54, 37, 34 and 31 respectively. By September, however, there were no significant differences between the dry weights m −l of any of the treatments. In the second experiment, damage by slugs occurred early in treatments without molluscicide and caused a mean reduction of 70% in seedling establishment. As a result significantly smaller dry weights m −1 of clover were recorded in September in these than in other treatments. Failure to protect against insects resulted in smaller seedlings. The results indicated that variations in seed rate within the range investigated were not critical but that failure to protect against pests decreased percentage establishment and subsequent growth.