Wild stands

Picture 27

Harvesting seed from wild stands is effective for supplying local provenance seed, however seed yields are driven by local seasonal conditions and seed lots are often contaminated with both annual and perennial weed species (Picture 27).

Picture 27 (right). A wild stand of Dichanthium sericeum ready for harvest at Trangie, central western New South Wales. (Photograph C. Waters)

The management of wild stands of grasses for maximum and sustained seed production is a developing science. What little information is available is included in the notes for individual species in Section 8. In general terms, the stand should be managed during the non-growing season of the target species to decrease the abundance of the weed species (or the non-target pasture species). The techniques available for this process include the use of selective herbicides, targeted high animal density grazing and occasional scarification or renovation. With some species, the judicious use of fire can increase stand density and seed production. The same principles apply to the use of fire in wild stands as for sown stands.

The judicious use of fertilisers and irrigation can also increase seed production and the life of the stand for some species. Again, the characteristics and behaviour of the individual species must be understood, and available information is included in Section 8.