Selection of a legume to use in a low phosphorus loss pasture

Figures & data

Table 1. Mean soil water-extractable P (WEP) and Olsen P for each treatment.

Treatment	Soil water extractable P (mg L^−1)	Olsen P (mg kg^−1)
Fallow soil	0.046 (0.003)	16 (1.1)
Chicory	0.053 (0.003)	17 (2.2)
Crimson clover	0.054 (0.003)	16 (1.8)
Haresfoot trefoil	0.063 (0.005)	18 (2.7)
Lucerne	0.061 (0.004)	18 (2.1)
Ryegrass	0.052 (0.005)	21 (2.4)
Plantain	0.058 (0.003)	17 (1.7)
Red clover	0.053 (0.003)	18 (2.2)
Sheep's burnet	0.057 (0.004)	20 (2.0)
Strawberry clover	0.050 (0.004)	18 (2.1)
White clover	0.048 (0.004)	20 (1.9)

The standard error of the mean is given in parentheses. Concentrations in bold were greater than those measured in the fallow soil when compared via a Dunnett least significant difference at the P < 0.05 level.

Figure 1. Mean concentration of water extractable P (WEP) in soil (A) sampled at the end of the trial, and in shoot material (B) bulked across all harvests of different plant species grown across a range of soil Olsen P concentrations. Lines represent the fit (P < 0.05) of a power function (y = ax^b) to each species.

Table 2. Categorical relative weighting among species at an Olsen P of 15 mg kg⁻¹ for potential for P loss from the soil and shoot material, and yield.

Treatment	Soil WEP loss	Shoot WEP loss	Yield (g pot^−1)
Chicory	Medium	High	Low (2.8)
Crimson clover	High	Medium	Medium (3.0)
Haresfoot trefoil	High	Low	High (3.7)
Lucerne	High	High	Low (2.4)
Ryegrass	Low	Medium	Medium (3.5)
Plantain	High	Medium	High (3.7)
Red clover	Medium	Low	High (6.3)
Sheep's burnet	Medium	Medium	Low (3.0)
Strawberry clover	Low	Low	Medium (3.2)
White clover	Low	Low	High (3.7)