PASTURE ESTABLISHMENT

1. PASTURE ESTABLISHMENT AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

2. Preliminary Information • Soil type • Soil fertility • Previous vegetation • Rainfall pattern • Area to be planted AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

3. Land Clearing From forests • Revenue from logging • Leave trees for shade • Normally carried out by contractor • Leave steep slopes and ravines AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

4. From abandoned land • More easily cleared • Problem of weeds • Soil of lower fertility • Needs higher rates of fertilizer and liming AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

5. LAND CLEARING AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

6. BURNING – not recommended AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

7. Soil preparation Clay and loamy soils • Use disc plough to turn soil over • Disc harrows to break up soil clods • Final round with rotovator to make soil fine for seed sowing • Soil need not be fine with vegetative propagation AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

8. Sandy soils • Can use chisel plough to break up soils and remove weeds AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

9. DISC PLOUGH – to overturn soil and bury existing vegetation AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

10. DISC PLOUGH – cutting and overturning soil AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

11. Large clods of soil left during disc ploughing AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

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13. Liming • Use lime if pH <4.5 • Apply about 2 tonnes/ha AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

14. Liming after disc ploughing AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

15. Liming manually AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

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18. Harrows • Disc harrows used after ploughing and liming AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

19. DISC HARROWS AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

20. Disc harrows breaking up clods into smaller particles AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

21. Rotovator AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

22. Basal fertilizers Fertilisers applied during planting • Pure grass pastures: • 60 kg N, 40 kg P and 50 kg K/ha • Legume grass: • Apply only P and K AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

23. Planting grass/legume seeds using seed drill AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

24. Compartments on seed drill for seeds and fertilizers fertilizers seeds AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

25. funnel Disc to cut soil AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

26. Seed drill AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

27. Seed drill with operator AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

28. NO-TILL DRILL FOR SOIL CONSERVATION AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

29. Seeding Rates • Grasses 5- 10 kg/ha • Legumes 2-6 kg/ha • Seed depth – small seeds 5-10 mm • Large seeds (legumes) – 15-20 mm AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

30. Grasses that can be planted with seeds • Signal grass (Brachiaria decumbens) • Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) • Setaria sphacelata var sericea AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

31. Vegetative Planting AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

32. Vegetative materials • Divided root stocks • Cuttings • Whole stems e.g. MARDI Digit, Setaria splendida, Napier AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

33. VEGETATIVE PLANTING – Napier grass Planting material – mature stems Stems stripped off leaves AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

34. Bare stems laid in furrow, base to tip AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

35. Planting cuttings of napier - slanted New tillers AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

36. VEGETATIVE PLANTING Guinea grass Planting material – rooted clumps 3 tillers per planting hole AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

37. Guinea grass clumps in rows AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

38. VEGETATIVE PLANTING - MARDI Digit AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

39. VEGETATIVE PLANTING – stoloniferous grasses AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

40. Good establishment – after 2 weeks AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

41. Weed problems AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

42. Good legume-grass pasture AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT

43. HAPPY STUDENTS AFTER SUCCESSFUL PLANTING! AGR 4501 PASTURE MANAGEMENT