Comparison of pasture establishment from a conventional disc drill and a prototype strip seeder drill

Abstract

Establishment of grasses and legumes drilled in spring with a prototype strip seeder drill or a conventional tripledisc drill were compared on two sites in the presence and absence of paraquat. On the Earnscleugh site, plant establishment in autumn, as a percentage of viable seed sown, was higher with the prototype drill than with the triple disc drill in the absence of paraquat. The application of paraquat increased establishment with the triple disc drill and differences between the drills were not consistent over species. Paraquat had no discernible effect on the competing vegetation or establishment at Ohau Downs. Establishment of birdsfoot trefoil, cocksfoot and tall fescue, but not alsike clover, was significantly higher in autumn in the prototype drill treatment. Treatment effects on standing herbage mass on both sites followed a similar trend to establishment although paraquat increased herbage mass in the prototype drill treatments on Earnscleugh, in contrast to the nonsignificant effect on establishment. The present results indicate the potential of the prototype strip seeder drill for cost effective establishment of improved pasture species in difficult environments.