Establishment of serradella by sowing either pod segments or scarified seed under a wheat crop

Abstract

Seed of Pitman serradella, an annual pasture legume grown on sandy soils in Western Australia, is produced in pods which segment shortly after maturity and drop on to the ground. Farmers harvest pods before they segment, i.e. when >90% of the seed is usually impermeable (hardseeded). At two sites the persistence of Pitman was compared when it was sown under a wheat crop either as podded, or as dehulled and scarified seed. Less than 5% of the podded seed emerged under the crop, but 60-80% emerged in the first pasture after the crop and established reasonable densities in the second year pasture. Most of the dehulled and scarified seed emerged under the crop, but the serradella failed to persist in subsequent years.