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Abstracts
Proceedings
HARVESTABILITY OF ANNUAL MEDITERRANEAN PASTURE LEGUMES USING
CONVENTIONAL CROP MACHINERY
B. J. Nutt and A. Loi
Cooperative Research Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture, The University
of Western Australia, Nedlands, W.A. 6907, Australia
Pasture improvement, through the introduction of annual legumes, is an integral part of the successful ley farming systems of southern Australia. The most common species utilised in these systems are subterranean clover and annual Medicago due to their persistence and grazing tolerance. However seed production from these species is limited to the use of specialist vacuum harvesters which are slow and leave the soil exposed to erosion. Current trends in southern Australia, in response to commodity prices and the development of herbicide resistant weed populations, require a greater range of pasture legumes species with emphasis being on low cost seed production and benefit to rotational crops rather than increased livestock production. This study on the harvestability of a range of alternative annual Mediterranean pasture legumes showed potential for low cost seed production using conventional crop machinery with O. sativus, T. spumosum, T glanduliferum, Trigonella balansae and some cultivars of O. compressus.
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Keywords: annual pasture legumes; harvestability.