Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures
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Phalaris in High Rainfall South West WA
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Phalaris in High Rainfall South West WA
Here was us feeling very pleased with ourselves that we’d managed to get some great stands of Phalaris established into one our paddocks (in amongst the usual ryegrass & clover) .. chatting yesterday with another local farmer who said he considers it a weed in our area, the livestock don’t find it as palatable as the annuals and it just gets left to go rank through selective grazing – which then just becomes a big clumpy problem.
what does anyone else in this region think – is that just grazing management issue or should we be looking at other more palatable perennial grass species instead?
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2 Replies
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I’ve heard this comment before, and that Phalaris is toxic to livestock. While both comments aren’t entirely wrong, they may be based on a past experience that goes back decades…
the current varieties are much better palatability than the original ones that were tried in WA. Toxicity can be an issue when grazing stressed plants after a big rain event in autumn if that’s all that is available. Sheep are more susceptible than cattle. From a grazing management perspective, yes, the plants will develop large crowns over time and get somewhat clumpy, but the value of a perennial pasture in the farming system far outweigh the negatives.
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Thanks Eric, good to hear some positive feedback about Phalaris, our sheep are eating it and in digging underneath one of the plants the roots have gone down at least 3 times deeper than the annuals which is the point isn’t it. Now need to get some perennial herbs and legumes going in there as well!
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