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The legacy of pasture drill rows on soil chemical characteristics and subsequent wheat production

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Abstract

Aims

To examine the legacy of pasture drill rows sown to various configurations of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.), lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) and phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.), on soil chemical characteristics and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production in the year following pasture removal.

Methods

A field experiment comparing 10 pasture species combination treatments conducted on a Red Kandosol soil in a semi-arid environment in south-eastern Australia was monitored from the end of the pasture phase until harvest of the first wheat crop. Quadrats were fixed to the soil surface to mark previous pasture drill rows. Soil within and between rows was sampled to 0.6 m at three times and analysed for mineral nitrogen (N), pH, total carbon (C) and available macro-nutrients, and related to wheat growth rate and yield.

Results

Significantly higher total C, mineral N and plant-available potassium (K), and lower sulphur (S) concentrations, were still evident in the original pasture drill row after grain harvest compared to the inter-row area, four years after pastures were sown. Grain yield was 11% greater in wheat growing on the original pasture drill row compared to between rows. Pure lucerne swards had less mineralised N than mixed lucerne swards associated with reduced water in the soil profile.

Conclusions

This study establishes the enduring legacy of pasture drill rows observed up to 14 months post-removal and highlights the opportunity to improve soil fertility through manipulation of pasture sowing configurations in a cropping field in south-eastern Australia.

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Notes

  1. Conversions to pH in CaCl2 can be made with the following equation:

    pHCaCl2 = −0.1463 x (pHKCl)2 + (2.6982 x pHKCl) – 4.2403. (R2 = 0.98; n = 286; Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute soils laboratory, G.J. Poile unpub.).

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Acknowledgements

The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) all contributed the necessary financial support for this research through the EverCrop project (CSA 00044). The technical support provided by NSW DPI staff, particularly Andrew Price, Richard Lowrie, Adam Lowrie, Binbin Xu and Peter Tyndall is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, Pine Gully Rd, Wagga, NSW, 2650, Australia

    Richard C. Hayes & Guangdi D. Li

  2. University of Tasmania, Private Bag 3523, Burnie, TAS, 7320, Australia

    Richard C. Hayes & Richard P. Rawnsley

  3. School of Sciences and Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, University of Southern Queensland, West St, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350, Australia

    Keith G. Pembleton

  4. University of Tasmania, Private Bag 98, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia

    Ross Corkrey

  5. CSIRO Agriculture and Food, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    Mark B. Peoples

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  1. Richard C. Hayes
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Correspondence to Richard C. Hayes.

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Hayes, R.C., Li, G.D., Rawnsley, R.P. et al. The legacy of pasture drill rows on soil chemical characteristics and subsequent wheat production. Plant Soil 455, 319–337 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04689-9

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