Factors responsible for failures in the establishment of summer grasses on the black earths of the Darling Downs, Queensland

Abstract

Seventeen field sowings at 0·5-in. depth were made with seed of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana Kunth) and green panic (Panicum maximum var. trichoglume (K. Schum.) Eyles). Each sowing was exposed for a maximum period of six weeks and the fate of seed divided into the following categories: seed germinating in the field, seedlings crust-impeded, non-emergent seedlings, seedling mortality, seedling survivors and seed retaining its viability. The various factors affecting establishment are discussed, and consideration given to the most pertinent avenues of research, with a view to improving establishment reliability.