Lotononis

NOTE: The information in this Agnote must be read in conjunction with Introduction to selecting and using pastures in NSW, which covers information on areas of adaptation, sources of variability, species mixtures, and important issues related to animal health and the conservation of native vegetation.
Pasture type and use A warm season, perennial, creeping and mat-forming legume for grazing.
Area of adaptation Subtropical North Coast on the lighter poorer soils.
Min. average annual rainfall 1000 mm on very sandy soils, but down to 750 mm on soils with better water-holding capacities.
Advantages
  • Withstands heavy close grazing and has some degree of cold and frost tolerance.
  • One of the few tropical legumes that persists on poorer lighter soils.
Disadvantages
  • Its use is very much restricted by the difficulties of seed production, the high cost of its seed, and its unreliable establishment.
  • It has a very small seed (about 3.3 million seeds per kilogram), making it difficult to establish.
  • Initial growth of seedlings is very slow.
  • Mat-forming grasses such as carpet grass usually out-compete lotononis.
Soil requirements Suited to light-textured acid soils, and with adequate rainfall it grows on shaley ridges. It has some tolerance to flooding and waterlogging. It grows best on well-drained but moist soils.
Varieties Miles. (Seed may be scarce or unobtainable in commercial quantities.)
Sowing rates:
  • as only species - 0.5–1 kg/ha,
  • in mixtures - 0.5–1 kg/ha, and even less.
Sowing time Late summer or autumn is recommended. Quickest establishment is achieved in January or February if protracted rains follow sowing.
Companion species Combines well with native grasses and shorter grasses such as pangola and paspalum, provided the pasture is well grazed. If used with taller grasses it is critical to graze heavily to keep grasses in check and maintain lotononis content. Also combines well with white clover if sufficient fertiliser is used.

Wynn cassia is also adapted to poor lighter soils where it is a far more popular choice than lotononis. The lotononis may be a suitable companion to the cassia, but heavy grazing pressure may be required to prevent cassia dominating the pasture.

Inoculation Group L
Major nutrient deficiencies Varies with soil type, but phosphorus, sulfur and molybdenum are the most likely nutrients to be required. It needs small amounts of copper and zinc if used on the infertile coastal sands.

Although it has ability to extract nutrients, especially phosphorus, from infertile soils, it still responds well to appropriate fertiliser.

Main insect pests No major pests, but heliothis and pod-sucking insects can be a problem in seed stands.
Main diseases If allowed to bulk-up under warm moist conditions, a lush stand of lotononis can suddenly collapse due to rhizoctonia fungi, little leaf virus, and/or bean yellow mosaic virus, which can attack the leaves and stems.
Management Heavy grazing keeps down competing grasses, and helps prevent sudden collapse of a bulky stand due to disease during warm moist conditions. The ideal grazing management is to maintain stands about 10 cm high; however, lighter grazing during flowering and seeding in spring helps build up the seedbank, which can be important for the lotononis pasture’s longevity.
Livestock disorders of particular note No problems reported.
Additional tips Being a very small seed, it establishes best in a fine, firm, weed-free seedbed, onto which the seed is usually broadcast and then rolled.
Further information ‘Lotononis’, Agricultural Gazette of NSW, April 1972, Vol. 83: 117–19.

‘Lotononis’, Queensland Agricultural Journal, March–April 1985, Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DG Cameron).

Acknowledgments

Advice on livestock health disorders was provided by Dr Chris Bourke, Principal Research Scientist, NSW Agriculture, Orange. His contribution is gratefully acknowledged.

Photo: Warren McDonald, Former Technical Specialist (Pastures), NSW Agriculture, Tamworth