Open AccessLong term growth rates and water extraction patterns of dryland chicory, lucerne and red clover
Author(s) -
Hamish E. Brown,
Derrick J. Moot,
K. M. Pollock
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
grassland research and practice series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2463-4751
pISSN - 0110-8581
DOI - 10.33584/rps.11.2003.2991
Subject(s) - loam , cichorium , red clover , agronomy , medicago sativa , biology , water extraction , dryland farming , perennial plant , agriculture , soil water , extraction (chemistry) , ecology , chemistry , chromatography
A 5-year experiment was conducted under dryland conditions (mean annual rainfall 660 mm) on a Wakanui silt loam at Lincoln University. The mean annual production of lucerne (20 t DM/ha) was greater than red clover and chicory (16 t DM/ha). The advantage of lucerne increased with time to 6 t DM/ ha in the final year, when the lucerne component of the sward was 94%, whereas chicory and red clover declined to 62 and 0% of their respective swards. The annual production advantage of lucerne was a result of higher growth rates in September and from December to May. The higher summer/autumn growth rates were attributed to a greater water extraction depth, giving lucerne access to more water during this time. The DM yield of all three species had a linear relationship with water use. These results are discussed in relation to the fitness of the three species for a dryland farming system, and how the performance of each would be expected to vary with differing soil type and rainfall situations. Key words: Cichorium intybus, extraction depth, Medicago sativa, Trifolium pratense, water use, water use efficiency