Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 7638 IREC Farmers' Newsletter No. 195 ­ – Rice R&D 2016 Malcolm Taylor Agropraisals Pty Ltd, Cobram, Vic T RADITIONALLY rice stubbles are looked upon as a liability. The straw impedes passage of most seeding equipment, encouraging many growers to burn the stubble with an inevitable loss of nutrients and organic matter. Stubbles are commonly of little value as market returns for rice straw mostly barely cover the costs of baling and transport. Yet rice stubbles represent a most unusual ecological niche in the normally arid Riverina landscape. After harvest of dryland winter crops, most dryland fields retain minimal standing stubble or grass and have negligible soil moisture until breaking rains arrive, typically late in May or June. Can growers take advantage of the soil moisture beneath rice stubble to establish a profitable following crop, and yet retain the nutrients and organic matter contained in the straw? Incorporation Attempts to incorporate rice stubble into moist ground in Australia have largely failed. Implements such as offset discs, PTO- powered discs and rotary hoes all require high energy inputs; incorporation operations Upon completion of rice harvesting each autumn, each hectare of land has a full profile of moisture and is covered with 12–15 tonnes of straw. QUICK TAKE l  A new project will investigate what advantages there are by growing forage legumes in rice stubbles. l Demonstrations and replicated trials at Old Coree, Tongaboo and Cobram in 2015 compared the establishment and growth of five forage legumes (subterranean clover, balansa clover, Persian clover, arrowleaf clover and vetch). l  In the 2016 autumn–winter three replicated studies were established to compare the production of a range of eight forage legumes when sown into rice stubbles. l Rice field harvested with Shelbourne Reynolds stripper front — typically, there may be 12–15 t/ha of straw remaining after harvest. SEEDING FORAGE LEGUMES AFTER RICE