Pasture stands of Consol lovegrass now well over 30 years old and still thriving, plus the ability to quickly respond to rain and provide high quantities of high-quality feed, provided it is sensibly managed, is a testament to how tough this pasture plant can be.
Consol was the first tropical grass pasture plant that proved to be acid soil tolerant and suitable to once poorly regarded agricultural land. Its main fault has been the difficulty of growing winter legumes with it.
Consol is the most cold tolerant of the tropical grasses and continues to grow well into autumn early winter, therefore commonly competing strongly with winter legumes for often scare autumn early winter soil moisture.
Because it begins spring growth earlier than other tropical grasses, it often competes strongly with winter legumes in the early to mid-spring, again a critical time for legume seed setting.
In some areas with milder winters, it often never totally ceases winter growth, especially on paddocks rarely heavily frosted.
Premier digit was later found by NSW DPI agronomists as acid soil tolerant and long term persistent, it tended to take over in popularity from Consol.
Premier coexists better with legumes such as sub clover, serradella, biserrula and the like.
Premier slows in late autumn growth more than Consol and starts regrowth after winter a little later.
Hence Premier is commonly less competitive against winter legumes.
However, Consol's competitiveness and extreme toughness can be a positive, as these current droughts are showing, and its lack of dependence on winter legumes for nitrogen supply can also be overcome.
Winter legume growth has been poor in all pastures these past three years and their supply of nitrogen for tropical grasses has been close to non-existent.
Adding nitrogen to Consol, and other perennial grasses when companion legume growth has been poor is now common.
Because the last three autumn, winter and springs have resulted in poor legume growth, Anthony and Dick Ord, "Marombi" Coolah, growers of Consol for well over 30 years, have top-dressed nitrogen on all their tropical grasses to good effect.
It is an extra cost but research supports 1.0kg nitrogen/ha can produce an extra 145kg quality dry matter (50kg nitrogen can produce 7.0t/ha extra feed).
The only reason Consol lovegrass can be described as poor feed quality is if soil fertility is poor.
Like cereal crops, pasture grasses respond best to nitrogen when other deficiencies like phosphorus are also corrected.
Consol is a close relative to commonly regarded weed African lovegrass.
Their seed is indistinguishable hence the importance of purchasing seed from reliable suppliers.
Unfortunately, I and others can't recommend Consol in tableland shires because of the weed status of African lovegrass (difficult to see the logic in this).
We, like many areas, have African lovegrass growing on adjoining roadways.
The best way to keep it out or remove it, is to crop three years with sound fallow weed control and sow down to a competitive tropical grass, including Consol.
Another big advantage of Consol is its relative ease in establishment.
Like other tropical grasses, I advocate cleaning up existing competition (weeds, other vegetation) via three crops and sound fallow weed seeding prevention.
Then sow in spring after the last winter crop generally sprayed out a few months before seeding.
It is worth adding annual legumes the following autumn even though their usefulness much depends on seasonal conditions.
However, over the last 30 years, several landholders have maintained a useful legume component in their Consol stands.
Hard seeded annual legumes, species selected according to soil type, early maturing varieties, careful grazing management and correcting soil deficiencies like sulphur and phosphorus, are important.
So, while most of our property's light acid country is sown to Premier or a combination of Premier and Consol, many of the farmers I have worked with for decades have long-term Consol stands and still rate them highly for sheep and cattle enterprises, saying Consol is extremely hardy and provides feed after the smallest of rain events (this comment relates to light soil).
Next week: Barley grass control revisited.
- Bob Freebairn, agricultural consultant based at Coonabarabran. Email robert.freebairn@bigpond.com or call 0428 752 149.
