![Peter and Fiona Howe inspect their tropical grasses now covering a third of their Trangie property, "Dunnield". Peter and Fiona Howe inspect their tropical grasses now covering a third of their Trangie property, "Dunnield".](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-agfeed/2057217.jpg/r0_0_1024_678_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
TROPICAL grasses have been a boon for livestock producers through the years, especially this past dry spring and summer.
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Digit, buffel and panic tropicals have been mainstay paddock forage, but plant health is just as important as the health of the animals grazing.
It's important to keep up nutrients for these plants, according to tropical pasture guru and Coonabarabran agricultural consultant Bob Freebairn.
"Pasture would be suffering, but it is amazing how much growth you will get out of tropical grasses, even out of relatively light rain, particularly on lighter country," he said.
Property owners should look at phosphorous and sulphur correction in those paddocks.
"Top-ups would encourage legumes to grow through winter/spring to hopefully supply nitrogen for the tropical grasses the following season," he said.
"We treat our tropical grasses the same as we treat our native grasses.
"Single super (phospate) has been ordered and will go out late March or early April."
He said the rates varied, but he used 100 kilograms per hectare.
Soil tests are important and will determine how much is needed.
Another issue, according to Mr Freebairn, was consideration of topdressing urea or sulphate of ammonia through summer.
"This year being so dry, paddocks may not need this, but in years of a fair bit of summer rain, legumes may not have supplied enough nitrogen, so topdressing is an option."
Supering paddocks is still important to get any decent winter legume growth.
"This drives the nitrogen as well as your winter feed," Mr Freebairn said.
Tropical and sub-tropical grasses and pasture were quite good at "fossicking" for nutrients in reasonably low fertility situations, said Heritage Seeds' Tamworth-based North West NSW territory manager Tony Stewart.
"They also have the ability to become very productive with adequate nutrition."
Mr Stewart said stocking rates could increase significantly in sub-tropicals over native pastures.
"If stocking three or four times the stocking rate of native pastures, nutrient is being removed faster and needs to be taken into consideration when replenishing soil fertility," he said.
Each species available has a preferred range of soil type, but Mr Stewart said a lot of species were adaptable.
"Bambatsii panic is probably number one for the heavier soils while premier digit grass and panics are more suited to lighter soil types."
Regardless of soil types, there are sub-tropical species to fit all situations, he said.
Co-operative Research Centre for Future Farm Industries along with Heritage Seeds has developed two new panic and Maximus cultivators that will be available to growers next spring.
Trangie district Border Leicester breeders and winter croppers, Peter and Fiona Howe, have been growing sub-tropicals on "Dunnield" since first trialling them in 1996.
A third of the property (300ha) is now under a mix of Gatton panic, Creeping Bluegrass, Gayndah buffel, Bambatsii panic and Premier Digit.
"We have doubled our animal production grazing on these grasses, but importantly in this drastic prolonged dry period we have had green growth resulting from the minimal rain fall," Mr Howe said.
The first time the Howes top-dressed was late November last year with sulphate of ammonia at 160kg/ha.
"We've had excellent growth in all those years prior," Mr Howe said.
Grass mix grows Trangie operation
WITH the success of an original planting of Gayndah buffel grass in 1996, the Howes now have some 300 hectares - 30 per cent of "Dunnield", their Border Leicester breeding and cropping property at Trangie - under a mix of tropical grasses.
They say this pasture has doubled their animal production and in good years they make roundbale hay from the excess for future use or for sale.
"We also find these grasses excellent competition to Bathurst bur and saffron thistles and other weeds," Mr Howe said.
"And buffel grass will also grow right up under trees."