Lucerne 30th July 2019

Australian Fodder Industry Annual Conference29-31 July Crowne Plaza, Hunter Valley NSW

Professor Derrick Moot

This work by Prof. Derrick Moot and the Lincoln University Dryland Pastures Research Team is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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85 post grads + 40 visiting interns/scholars

Introduction• Background

• Drivers of forage production

• Lucerne growth and development

• Quality cutting and grazing

• Genetics - Fall Dormancy - yield

Value of good data

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CO2 concentration at Mauna Loa, Hawaii

Data source: Dr. Pieter Tans, NOAA/ESRL (www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/) and Dr. Ralph Keeling, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (scrippsco2.ucsd.edu/). (28/5/2019)

Year1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

CO

2co

ncen

tratio

n (p

pm)

5

320

340

360

380

420

0

300

400

Predicted climate change in New Zealand by 2040

MPI-NIWA-Drought-in-a-Changing-Climate%20.pdfhttp://www.mpi.govt.nz/document-vault/133

New Zealand Median Drought Change between

1980-1999 and 2030-49

An increase of 10% corresponds to 25 more days in drought per year, on average.

Increase in % Time

1211

10

9

8

7

65

4

3

2

1

0

Canterbury = largest flat land area – mixed crop/sheep

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• 2019* 2018* 2017* • 2014# 2013 2012 2011#• 2010 2009# 2008* 2007• 2006* 2005* 2004* 2003#• 2002* 2000* 1999* 1998Crusaders 10 OZ 4

Canterbury final stats

By 2030 - Drier:Drought – increased duration and frequency

“The Canterbury Plains in the South Island of NZ depend almost entirely on nitrogen fixed by clover and are highly productive”

T. M. Addiscott – 2005 Nitrate agriculture and the environment

Abundant aquifer water = 500,000 ha irrigated dairy

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Dairying in Canterbury• 3.5 cows per ha• 780 cows per herd• 1150 herds• Public backlash

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Rep 1Rep 2

Rep 3

Experiment sitePh

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6.3 t/ha

Dryland

MonthJ A S O N D J F M A M J J

Grow

th ra

te (k

g/ha

/d)

0

30

60

90

120Just add water

9.8 t/ha

Growth rates (2 year means)

Mills et al. 2006, 2009

6.3 t/ha

Dryland

Water + Nitrogen21.9 t/ha

MonthJ A S O N D J F M A M J J

Grow

th ra

te (k

g/ha

/d)

0

30

60

90

120

Growth rates (2 year means)

Mills et al. 2006, 2009

y = 3.3 kg DM/ha/oCd

I –N

9.8 t/ha

Thermal time (°Cd)0 1000 2000 3000

DM y

ield

(t/h

a)

0

10

20

30I +N

y = 7.0 kg DM/ha/oCd

21.9 t/ha

The Nitrogen gap

Mills et al. 2006; 2009

15.7 t/ha

Just add Nitrogen

6.3 t/ha

Dryland

MonthJ A S O N D J F M A M J J

Grow

th ra

te (k

g/ha

/d)

0

30

60

90

120

Growth rates (2 year means)

Mills et al. 2006, 2009

Summer ⇒ moisture response

Mills 2007

Rain

fall

(mm

)

0

50

100

Thermal time (°Cd)0 1000 2000 3000

Defic

it (m

m)

0

50

100

150

D+ND-N

Total rain = 520 mm

Soil moisture deficit 2003/04

Mills 2007

Water stress effect on yield

D+N

15.7 t/ha

21 Nov 30 Jan

Thermal time0 1000 2000 3000

DM y

ield

(t/h

a)

0

10

20

30I+N

y = 7.0 kg DM/ha/oCd

21.9 t/ha

Mills et al. 2006

Nitrogen fixation25-30 kg N/t DM

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Lucas et al. 2010

• 65 – 437 mm irrigation• 7-10 day measurement interval• 6 years

Experiment 1 – drought tolerant species

Brown et al. 2003, 2005

Annual dry matter yields

Growth season97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02

Yiel

d (t

DM

/ha)

0

10

20

30LSD

Chicory LucerneRed clover

Brown et al. 2005

Growth season97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02

Bot

anic

alco

mpo

sitio

n (%

)

0

25

50

75

100LSD

Persistence

ChicoryLucerne

Red clover

Brown 2004

Lucerne Objectives

• Understand plant responses to the environment

• Use that information to design management practices

• Determine the influence of genotype

• Understand impacts on yield and quality

Development:is the ‘age’ or maturity of the regrowth crop e.g. leaf appearance, flowering

Growth:is dry matter accumulation as a result of light interception and photosynthesis

Growth and development are both influenced by environmental signals

The canopy: the energy capture device

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Spring Feb

Jan

Vegetative growth

Mean temperature (oC)0 8 12 16

Gro

wth

rate

(kg

DM

/ha/

d)

0

40

80

120

AutumnJuly

Moot et al. 2003

Experiment 2flexible grazing

25 days resting

3 days grazing

38 days resting

4 days grazing

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Partitioning to roots

A S O N D J F M A

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

Tap

root

dry

wei

ght (

t/ha)

Month

42-day

Moot et al. 2003

28-day

28 kg DM/ha/mm

20 kg DM/ha/mmGrass only

13 kg DM/ha/mm

Lucerne

Spring WUE

Water use (mm)0 100 200 300

Accu

mul

ated

DM

(t/h

a)

0

2

4

6Grass/clover

Moot et al. 2008

Spring

Growing point at the top of the plant

Seasonal grazing management

• 1st rotation aided by root reserves to produce high quality vegetative forage.

• can graze before flowers appear (~1500 kg DM/ha) ideally ewes and lambs but

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Mar

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Lucerne development

Reproductive (flowering)

• Long day plant - flowers earlier in summer than spring/autumn due to photoperiod

• Time of flowering is also temperature dependent e.g. 380-550 °Cd as photoperiod changes (14.5-16.5 h)

Ther

mal

tim

e (o

Cd)

Photoperiod (h)13 14 15 16 17

400

600

Day-length effect

autumn

spring

summer

Dissecting Alfalfa Dormancy Using Selection MappingCharlie Brummer, Gitanshu Munjal, and Scott NewellUniversity of California, Davis

Supplied by: Charlie Brummer, UC Davis

Dormancy phenotype observed in five of 11 standard check cultivars when in growth chamber under decreasing temp and photoperiod

1 3 6 9 11

Dormancy is measured by height of regrowth in autumn

Supplied by: Charlie Brummer, UC Davis

Autu

mn

Regr

owth

Hei

ght

Shor

tTa

ll

Very Dormant Very Non-dormant1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Fall Dormancy Class

New cultivar: 1. Measure height

2. Compute Fall Dormancy Rating

based on standard check regression

Supplied by: Charlie Brummer, UC Davis

Methods

Three genotypes with different FD ratings

FD2, FD5 and FD10

Three defoliation regimes

DF28, DF42 and DF84

Split-plot RCB with 4 replicates.

Exp. duration: October 2014 to January 2017.

Irrigation when need.

FD2

FD10

FD5

FD2

FD5

FD10 FD5

FD10

FD2

Block 1 Block 2

Block 4

Main-plot: DF

Block 3

Sub-plot: FD

Sown 8/10/14

Harvest dateJul14 Jan15 Jul15 Jan16 Jul16 Jan17 Jul17 Jan18 Jul18 Jan19 Jul19 0

5

10

15

20

Shoo

t DM

yie

ld (t

/ha)

FD 2FD 5FD 10

Lucerne shoot yield (42 day regrowth periods)

FD 2FD 5FD 10

Sown 8/10/14

DateJul14 Jan15 Jul15 Jan16 Jul16 Jan17 Jul17 Jan18 Jul18 Jan19 Jul19

Pere

nnia

l bio

mas

s (t

DM

/ha)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Lucerne perennial biomass (42 day rotation)(crown + root to 0.3 m)

Shoot and perennial organ yields of lucerne genotypes of three fall dormancy levels

over five years

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142 plants.m-2 62 plants m-2

(33% of survival)24 plants m-2

(10% of survival)

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Ta 2018

Shoot yield (t DM/ha)0 2 4 6 8U

npal

atab

le p

ropo

rtio

n (t

DM

/ha)

0

1

2

3

4

Leaf:Stemratio

0

1

2

3

4

Graze vs cut

Rotation 1 Pre-grazePlot 1 (21/9/07) 2.3 t DM/ha20-25 cm tall

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Photos: Richard Cookson

System 2 – High SR – housing or partial housingPh

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DJ M

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Crude protein of lucerne

Leaves

Stems

Yield (t DM /ha)0 1 2 3 4 5

% C

rude

pro

tein

0

10

20

30

40

Brown & Moot 2004

Leaves

Stem

0 1 2 3 4 5

ME

(MJ/

kg D

M)

0

4

8

12

16

Yield (t DM /ha)

Metabolisable energy of lucerne

Brown & Moot 2004

Breeding yield and quality?Supplied by: Charlie Brummer, UC Davis

Supplied by: Charlie Brummer, UC Davis

California - average lucerne yield (USDA Ag Statistics)

Year1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Aver

age

yiel

d (t

DM

/ha)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Yield vs. Year of Cultivar Release

Supplied by: Charlie Brummer, UC Davis

04.5

22.426.9

9.0

17.913.4

35.831.4

40.3Yi

eld

(t D

M/h

a)

04.5

22.426.9

9.0

17.913.4

35.831.4

40.3

Yiel

d (t

DM

/ha)

17.9

13.4

9.0

4.5

22.4

Yiel

d (t

DM

/ha)

31.426.9

22.417.913.4

Yiel

d (t

DM

/ha)

9.04.5

Reflects earlier harvesting … and lower yield

Lucerne Hay Quality Has Improved

Avg. all cuttings, data from Petaluma Labs, CA (thousands of samples, mostly from intermountain areas of N.

California)

Supplied by: Charlie Brummer, UC Davis

R2 = 0.76

Year1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

052

53

54

55

56

57

% T

DN

(90%

DM

)

Area of lucerne in U.S.A

Modified from data supplied by: Charlie Brummer, UC Davis

Year1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Tota

l luc

erne

are

a in

U.S

.A(m

illion

s ha

)

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

Irrigation

Supplied by: Charlie Brummer, UC Davis

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Fertilizer

• Higher requirement from cutting than grazing–2% K = 20 kg/ha/t DM removed

• 50% K super = 80 kg/ha/t DM removedOr• KCL = 40kg/ha/t DM removed + P and S from

super

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Conclusions

• All plants are N deficient except legumes• Lucerne growth is seasonal• Lucerne yield and quality are linked• Management of lucerne trumps genetics• Cut ~4 tonne (40-45 cm) for yield and quality• Irrigation should be lots and infrequently• Remember K fertilizer!

Website: www.lincoln.ac.nz/drylandBlog: https://blogs.lincoln.ac.nz/drylandFacebook: @DrylandPasturesResearch

ReferencesAddiscott, T.M. 2005. Nitrate, Agriculture and the Environment. CABI International, Wallingford, 279 pp.Brown, H. E. 2004. Understanding yield and water use of dryland forage crops in New Zealand. Ph.D thesis, Lincoln University, Lincoln,

Canterbury. 288 pp.Brown, H.E. and Moot, D.J. 2004. Quality and quantity of chicory, lucerne and red clover production under irrigation. Proceedings of the New

Zealand Grassland Association 66: 257-264.Brown, H.E., Moot, D.J. and Pollock, K.M. 2003. Long term growth rates and water extraction patterns of dryland chicory, lucerne and red clover.

In: D.J. Moot (Editor), D.J. Moot (Ed.). Legumes for Dryland Pastures. Proceedings of a New Zealand Grassland Association Symposium. 18-19 November 2003. New Zealand Grassland Association. Research & Practice Series Lincoln University, New Zealand, pp. 91-99.

Brown, H.E., Moot, D.J. and Pollock, K.M. 2005. Herbage production, persistence, nutritive characteristics and water use of perennial forages grown over 6 years on a Wakanui silt loam. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 48: 423-429.

Lucas, R.J., Smith, M.C., Jarvis, P., Mills, A. and Moot, D.J. 2010. Nitrogen fixation by subterranean and white clovers in dryland cocksfoot pastures. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association 72: 141-146.

Mills, A. 2007. Understanding constraints to cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.) based pasture production, PhD thesis, Lincoln University, Canterbury. Online access: http://researcharchive.lincoln.ac.nz/dspace/bitstream/10182/32/1/mills_phd.pdf. 202 pp.

Mills, A., Moot, D.J. and Jamieson, P.D. 2009. Quantifying the effect of nitrogen of productivity of cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.) pastures. European Journal of Agronomy, 30, 63-69.

Mills, A., Moot, D.J. and McKenzie, B.A. 2006. Cocksfoot pasture production in relation to environmental variables. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association, 68, 89-94.

Moot, D.J., Brown, H.E., Teixeira, E.I. and Pollock, K.M. 2003. Crop growth and development affect seasonal priorities for lucerne management. , D.J Moot (Ed.). Legumes for Dryland Pastures. Proceedings of a New Zealand Grassland Association Symposium. 18-19 November 2003.New Zealand Grassland Association. Research & Practice Series No. 11, Lincoln University, New Zealand, pp. 201-208.

Moot, D.J., Brown, H.E., Pollock, K. and Mills, A. 2008. Yield and water use of temperate pastures in summer dry environments. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association 70: 51-57.

Ta, H. T. 2018. Growth and development of lucerne with different fall dormancy ratings. Online: https://hdl.handle.net/10182/10332. Ph.Dthesis, Lincoln University, Lincoln. 160 pp.