Annual cool-season legumes for forage: I. A survey of lines for yield and disease resistance at kaitaia and palmerston north

Abstract

Annual winter-growing forage legumes of Mediterranean origin may provide a suitable cool-season crop for double cropping systems in the North Island of New Zealand. Small-plot trials with 54 lines of the genera Trifolium, Medicago, Vicia, Ornithopus, and Lotus were run on 2 sites at Kaitaia and 1 site at Palmerston North to determine yields. At Kaitaia, 26 lines produced 8.0–10.0 t DM/ha when planted in early April and harvested as a single cut in mid to late October. At Palmerston North, only 4 lines produced 6.0 t DM/ha or better over the same growing period, but the site used was exposed, with a poorly draining soil type. Fungal diseases were identified on many species and some infestations were severe, particularly at Palmerston North. The lines Trifolium vesiculosum cv. ‘Yuchi’, T. balansae SA 5238, T. subterraneum cv. ‘Woogenellup’, Ornithopus sativus W48, Vicia dasycarpa cv. ‘Namoi’, and several lines of Medicago polymorpha all appear prospects for use as the cool-season component of a double forage cropping system in areas with mild winters. © 1979 Taylor & Fracis Group, LLC.