EFFECTIVENESS OF A STRIP SEEDER DIRECT DRILL FOR PASTURE ESTABLISHMENT

Improvement of depleted grasslands can be restricted by the lack of re liable, cost effective and ecologically sound establishment techniques , This paper presents results from an experimental strip seeder drill designed to mechanically remove competing vegetation, Lucerne (Medicag o sativa L.), birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.), cocksfoot (Da ctylis glomerata L.) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinace Schreb.) were drilled into undeveloped natural grassland with either a triple disc drill or a strip seeder drill in the absence or presence of herbicide. There were small differences between the drills in initial seedling e stablishment 7 weeks after September sowing but seedling survival over summer varied with drill and herbicide treatment, With the strip seed er drill, 80% and 85% of seedlings survived in the absence and presenc e of herbicide, respectively, while with the triple disc drill 74% sur vived in the presence of herbicide but only 40% survived in the absenc e of herbicide, Five months after sowing, 56% and 63% of the strip see der furrow was covered by sown species in the absence and presence of herbicide compared with only 6% and 35% of the triple disc furrow, The se differences in cover were also reflected in herbage dry matter of s own species in the 3 years following drilling, The results demonstrate the agronomic superiority of the strip seeder drill for establishment of improved pasture species.