Cultivated strips fast-track legume establishment in red basalt woodland

Abstract

Beef cattle production in the seasonally dry zone of north Queensland is based on uncleared native grasslands with significant feed deficits during the 6-to-8-month dry season (Rolfe et al., 2016). Well adapted perennial legumes (stylo and butterfly pea) are available which can improve dry-season herbage yield and feed quality on fertile red basalt soils (Cox et al., 2025). However, adoption of these legumes using ‘burn and broadcast’ methods has limited historical success, possibly due to grass competition from vigorous naturalised grasses (Indian couch and grader grass) on this fertile land type. To address the issue, DPI researchers with co-funding from Meat and Livestock Australia, have developed a replicated paddock-scale study to compare the use of cultivated strips with the burn and broadcast method to establish legume pastures as part of conducting a long-term grazing study.