The benefits of legumes on pastureland was in focus over the past month, with over 120 land managers and agricultural advisors participating in the South East Local Land Services' Knowing Your Nodules workshops.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The workshops provided information to land managers about the role of legumes in pasture systems, how legume nodules are formed, what influences nodule health, how to assess nodules in the field and how to improve nodulation and biological nitrogen fixation.
The workshops were conducted across the South East, including at Bega and Moruya in October.
Local Land Services senior agriculture advisor and workshop developer, Jo Powells, expressed the benefits of legume nodules.
"These workshops have been focusing on legume nodulation because that's where the process of nitrogen fixation happens," Ms Powells said.
"Well nodulated legumes can provide a biologically sustainable source of soil nitrogen that can be used to promote the growth of our pastures, consequently providing more feed of higher quality for our livestock."
Ms Powells urged land owners to manage soil acidity for quality legume nodules.
"As land managers we strongly influence how well our legumes nodulate and by maintaining sufficient soil phosphorus and sulphur levels and by managing soil acidity we can significantly improve nitrogen fixation rates," she said.
"Good soil organic matter and soil carbon are also important for supporting the survival of the important rhizobia over the summer period when our traditional annual legumes are absent from our pasture systems."
READ MORE: Beneath the noise, miracles are taking place
The workshops provided a mix of theory and hands-on learning which allowed participants to practise their newly learnt nodule health scoring skills on fresh legume samples collected from the paddock.
Southern Highlands grazier Brad Fleming said the workshop was useful.
"I now know all about the value of legumes in my pastures and how to make the most of their nitrogen fixing capabilities," he said.
"Washing the legumes from the soil, finding the different nodules and scoring them was really fascinating."
The Knowing Your Nodules workshops were supported by Local Land Services through funding provided by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.
The South East Soils program will continue in 2020.
