Growing up on a farm in Mareeba, coupled with 19 years’ experience as an agronomist, Gerry Dogao has a unique perspective on agricultural and seeding practices in far-north Queensland when it comes to pasture seed selection, sowing and establishment.
As the Central and Northern Queensland Sales Agronomist DLF Seeds, he is eager to share his top tips and mix recommendations to graziers. They can then select varieties for establishing a successful tropical or subtropical pasture, that will provide ample cow feed, hay or silage.
Gerry’s 101 guide to pasture grass seed establishment
When it comes to establishing the right pasture for tropical and subtropical climates, Gerry recommends the following steps:
- Prepare the seed beds properly by clearing the area of weeds and debris.
- Seek out advice from experts including your local Elders or DLF Seeds Sales Agronomist
- Conduct a soil test to understand the soil nutrition. This will aid us in knowing the best seed mix for your pastures and identify any nutrition deficiencies.
- Source high quality seeds for planting and plant with the best equipment at your disposal, preferably a seeder.
- Use a pre fertiliser to provide nutrients to pastures.
Once established, don’t graze too early! To check if the pasture is ready for grazing, wrap your hands around the grass and trying to pull it out. If the grass releases, it is ready for grazing.
If you can’t pull it out, you can do a crash graze to bring the pasture down to about 200mm (this encourages quick regeneration and tillering).
Once tropical and subtropical pastures are properly established, they usually last multiple years. To get the most out of a pasture, good management practices (such as staying on top of grazing to avoid pastures becoming rank), will ensure you’re weed burden in minimised and that your stock feed, yield, feed nutrition content, and profit is maximised.
Choosing the right seed varieties that complement your environment and stock finishing goals, also play a huge part in the success of your pasture.
Best pasture seed for tropical and subtropical climates
In tropical and subtropical climates like North and Central Queensland, Gerry says the right seeds can persist through extreme weather conditions, including flooding.
“The main grasses I would recommend for a tropical region is Callide Rhodes, Gatton Panic, Katambora Rhodes, Jarra grass and Mekong Briz™ antha brachiaria. For legumes, V8™ stylo, Burgundy Bean and Cardillo cento™,” he said.
Gerry also underlines the importance of sourcing high quality seeds that are fit for the farm’s soil type, emphasising the importance of clearing the area of weeds and debris to create the best environment for seed growth and prevent pests.
Mekong and Humidicola outcompete weeds like Giant Rats tail grass due to their vigorous and high competition growth.
“Weed grasses like Giant Rats Tail can be prolific in these climates, but the right grass choice can reduce its effects. Mekong and Humidicola are the best grasses to help control Giant Rats Tail. They are quick growers and can out compete it for sunlight, improving overall pasture quality.”
Getting the right seed mix
Gerry works with graziers, farmers and rural retailers across Queensland to create and provide the ideal mix of cultivars that suits their needs.
“I enjoy walking through their farm to understand their goals and system. This helps to determine the steps and preparation needed, to provide them with the best possible product that complements their soil type, environment and their farm goals,” Gerry explained.
“I’ll ask what soil type their farm is, which helps me choose the species of grass or legumes. I’ll also ask what’s going to be grazing there – whether it’s wieners, steers or breeders, because they all have different nutritional requirements from a cow feed perspective.
“With wieners and steers, you want to put weight on them quite quickly and get them ready for sale, while for breeders it’s about keeping them healthy for breeding.”
Gerry’s recommendations to plan ahead for spring
When looking ahead to spring sowings for tropical and coastal climates, Gerry recommends a balanced mix of pasture grass and legume seed species to ensure robust pasture growth.
“If you are looking for high yields, and have 500mm or more annual rainfall, three to four kilograms per hectare of Mekong and two to three kilograms per hectare of Callide Rhodes, is worth considering,” he said.
“To add a nutritional and Nitrogen fixing legume component to this mix, consider adding two kilograms per hectare of legumes such as V8™ stylo and one kilogram per hectare of Burgundy Bean.”
The benefit of custom pasture seed mixes is that it can be tailored to an environment and farm goals.
“As with all custom mixes, this grass and legume mix would need to be adjusted slightly to meet the needs of each farm and the environmental conditions. Once this custom pasture seed mix of grass seed and legume seed has been tweaked to suit your operation, graziers may benefit from 10 or so kilos per hectare of a nutritious pasture, that is suitable for various grazing needs and environmental conditions.” Gerry concluded.
Ultimately, a tropical pasture mix of grasses and legumes is a great seed mix option for cattle feed, cattle grazing, hay and silage.
Article written by DLF Seeds for Seasons magazine.
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