The effects of seed pelleting and broadcast lime on the establishment of overs own ‘Grasslands Maku’,Lotus pedunculatusCav., were investigated on a range of tussock grassland sites with pHs varying from 4.4 to 4.8 and devoid of lotus rhizobia. The addition of 10070 gum arabic to the peat inoculant slurry increased the percentage of nodulated plants on all sites. Pelleting the inoculated seed with rock-phosphate dolomite further increased nodulated plants on the 3 most acid sites (pH 4.4-4.5) in the absence of broadcast lime. With slurry inoculation treatments there was a consistent response to lime broadcast at 500 kg/ha over the pH range 4.4-4.6 but in the presence of rock-phosphate dolomite pelleting the increase in nodulated plants from broadcast lime was only apparent on 2 of these sites. Seed treatments in the present experiment were prepared 1 day before sowing. The use of seed pelleting to maximise the establishment of Maku lotus on the more acid soils cannot be recommended until pellets having satisfactory survival of rhizobia during the longer storage periods experienced under practical farming conditions have been developed and evaluated.
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