Light land pastures

Abstract

Approximately ¾ million acres of the Canterbury Plains are classified as light land. The soils are a shallow, stony loam overlying an open, shingle subsoil with a very low moisture holding capacity. The rainfall of 25 in. is fairly well distributed, but on these soils is normally inadequate for pasture growth from November to March, due to high evaporation. Under these conditions the pasture mixtures used on moister soils are unsuitable. Subterranean clover has proved the most suitable pioneer legume for this class of land and is still the basic legume for most pasture mixtures. Investigations into the management and productivity of subterranean clover were made at Ashley Dene from 1939 to 1947. This work showed that subterranean clover was a first-class legume for these soils and that it was essential to apply both lime and superphosphate before a vigorous stand of clover could be secured. The second stage of the investigations was a study of the clover in relation to other species in the mixture. This paper presents the results of this investigation over the past 6 years.