Suppression of vulpia and goose grass in dryland pastures through the choice of sown pasture species

摘要

Vulpia (Vulpia myuros) and goose grass (Bromushordeaceus) are common annual grass weeds throughoutNew Zealand in dryland pastures. They compete withsown species, suppressing pasture production andlivestock performance. Their seeds may also damagehides and carcasses. Choice of sown pasture species canbe important in limiting their spread. The abundanceand fecundity of sown vulpia and goose grass wasmeasured over 1 year in dryland Canterbury pasturessown with different grass and legume species. Survivaland seedhead production of both vulpia and goosegrass were lower in pastures oversown with the annuallegumes subterranean and balansa clover. Annual grassweed establishment was also lower in cocksfoot thanperennial ryegrass pastures. In Canterbury drylandpastures subject to summer drought, cocksfoot-basedpastures oversown with subterranean and balansaclover show promise as a better alternative to ryegrass-basedpastures for suppressing the ingress of thesespecies. Repeating this study over several years indifferent environments would determine how widelythese conclusions can be applied.