Effect of a soil fumigant on the estahlishment and growth of a grazed pasture on a yellow-hrown loam

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Abstract
‘Telone’ soil fumigant was applied to the seedbed of a mixed pasture being sown after 2 years of cropping; the effect on dry matter production was measured over 11 months. During the trial the proportion of white clover in the sward increased, and during establishment, clover growth in ‘Telone’ plots appeared better than in control plots. Populations of rootknot (Meloidogyne hapla) and clover cyst (Heterodera trifolii) nematodes were lower in ‘Telone’ plots. Total dry matter yield was significantly higher in ‘Telone’ plots at 7 of the 12 harvests, but there were no significant increases in clover yield. Over the trial, dry matter production from ‘Telone’ plots was 13% more than from control plots. Pot trials showed that clover yields in soil cropped for 2 years were more than double those in soil under old pasture. Total M. hapla and H. trifolii larvae in clover seedlings grown for 33 days in seedbed soil from control and old pasture sites were 4 and 6 times, respectively, those for ‘Telone’-treated soil. Thus a reduction in clover root nematode populations was an important benefit of crop rotation in the pasture renewal programme.

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