Volume 27, 373

Tropical Grasslands (1993) Volume 27, 373–380

Tropical pasture establishment.
12. Pasture establishment practices and experiences in central Queensland

R.L. CLEM¹, J.H. WILDIN ² and P.H. LARSEN³

¹Department of Primary Industries, Biloela Research Station, Biloela, and
²Rockhampton, Queensland
³"Cedars Park", via Banana, Queensland, Australia

Abstract

In central Queensland over 2M ha of sown pastures have been established. These areas, combined with the valuable native pasture resources of the region, provide grazing for more than 2M beef cattle. The diversity in climate, soils and land use results in a large and variable range of appropriate establishment practices in pasture development. Pastures are established by sowing into cultivated or ash seedbeds following clearing of forest and scrub country, sowing after regrowth control, and oversowing legumes into native and sown grasses using a range of techniques. The shrub legume, Leucaena, is being more widely sown as are ponded pastures and small areas of irrigated pastures. Forage crops are also widely sown..
In the drier areas, rainfall variability has a major influence on pasture establishment. Poor establishment occurs when stored soil moisture is low, follow-up rain fails or competition from resident grass, weeds or cover crops is high. Establishment on clay soils is most difficult and few plants, particularly perennial legumes, are suited to clays. There is an emerging need for plants that are suited to short-term (or ley) pastures for use between successive crops, and for the technologies that provide rapid and reliable establishment of these plants. Dormancy in grasses can be a problem and hardseededness in legumes often reduces establishment. Techniques to more effectively scarify legume seed and a better appreciation of how seed characteristics interact with climate and soil moisture could improve establishment of sown pastures and thus help to maintain and develop the pastoral industry of the region.