A ‘Dream’ pasture and its comparison with two existing annual pasture legumes for Western Australia: a farmers’ eye view

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2010

Journal Title

Livestock Research for Rural Development

ISSN

ISSN 0121-3784

Keywords

Annual pasture legume, adoption, Biserrula cv. Casbah (Biserrula pelecinus), farmers’ perception, French Serradella cv. Cadiz (Ornithopus sativus), pasture characteristics

Disciplines

Agronomy and Crop Sciences

Abstract

A number of annual pasture legumes (APLs) have been released in Western Australia since 1990 with the aim of a successful fit into the existing farming systems. However, the success of adoption of these pastures has not been encouraging. In this study, based on farmers perceptions derived from a survey, an APL-characteristics framework was developed for Western Australia. The framework was simplified into six components. They are, in order of importance calculated from the percent of farmers mentioning them: superiority in establishment and growth (79%), ability in supplying quality feed (49%), improved potential in controlling weeds (38%), adaptability in broader agro-ecological horizon (36%), tolerant to major insect-pests (20%), and inexpensive (or, economic 15%). However, these six components of the framework were derived from 27 characteristics mentioned by farmers, either as a single characteristic, or by combining more than one of the above six components. Using this yardstick, the attributes, rated by the farmers, of two APLs in Western Australia, French Serradella cv. Cadiz (Ornithopus sativus) and Biserrula cv. Casbah (Biserrula pelecinus), commonly known as Cadiz and Casbah, respectively, was compared. This newly developed APL framework may be used as a tool for understanding adoption potential of any annual pasture legume in Western Australia, and it may also act as a guide for those breeding or selecting APLs in the state.

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