ASHEEP - Legumes in Kikuyu

Summary

​The legumes in kikuyu project was undertaken to improve the productivity of kikuyu pastures in the south-east coastal zone of Western Australia through introducing legumes. The ideal partner for kikuyu, a summer-active grass, is a leguminous winter-active annual. There are challenges ensuring the success of this partnership which were examined during this project.

A paddock scale trial was set up by sowing various legume pasture species at a traditional Autumn sowing and an earlier Summer sowing date. The kikuyu was supressed before seeding and there was an unsprayed, unseeded plot. Pasture composition was monitored over three years and the yellow serradella proved to be the best performer after that time. Some other varieties were impressive early, but did not persist into later years which was a key criteria for the farmer.

One of the key findings is the importance of active management of a pasture paddock. Doing something almost always is better than doing nothing to an unproductive stand.