Extremely drought tolerant grazing legume

Caatinga is a perennial legume mix of Unica and Primar stylos. Extremely drought tolerant, originating from an environment that experiences a long dry season and irregular rainfall. Caatinga has shown persistence across a wide range of soil types over the past 20 years and is an effective weed suppressant on lighter soil types. Caatinga is suited to heavy grazing situations and set stocking after establishment.

Sowing rate (sole): 4-6kg/ha
Sowing rate (mixed): 2-5kg/ha

Soil

Caatinga stylo can adapt to a wide range of soil types particularly heavy clays, but also clay-loams. Caatinga stylo prefers more fertile soils but can grow in soils that are fairly low in phosphorus and calcium. An application of 10‒20 kg/ha P (50-100kg/ha DAP) at planting and as a maintenance fertiliser every 2 or 3 years after establishment will maintain available soil P levels and can improve both plant and animal performance. Consider soil testing before planting to check molybdenum and sulphur levels, key nutrients for legumes.

Rainfall

Caatinga stylo originates from an environment typical of a long dry season and irregular rainfall. Caatinga is well-adapted to tropical and subtropical environments with 500‒1,000 mm summer-dominant rainfall, growing best in years with a long growing season. Caatinga is very drought tolerant but it must be noted it performs poorly in seasonally flooded soils.

Sowing and establishment

Caatinga stylo pasture seed is best sown into a well-cultivated, fallowed seedbed with good subsoil moisture and prior weed control. Caatinga pasture seed should be sown at 4-6kg/ha as a sole pasture and 2-4kg/ha in a pasture mix with grasses and planted no deeper than 1cm. For a successful establishment it’s important to establish Caatinga early before heat waves occur and always plant into good moisture. Young seedlings compete poorly with vigorous grasses in the first two years while Caatinga stylo is establishing, ensuring the correct sowing rates of grasses are used will allow Caatinga to establish successfully. Caatinga stylo has a highly specific inoculum requirement and doesn’t nodulate effectively with native strains of rhizobia.

In good growing conditions, fertilised well and in pure swards, Caatinga stylo can produce over 13 tDM/ha during the growing season. Dry matter yields can be higher than those of similar stylo species and cultivars. Caatinga also competes effectively against and can suppress weeds such as Heliotrope, a major problem in cultivation on lighter soils. Caatinga can increase overall feed value of pasture by providing nitrogen and can assist in improving soil fertility for succeeding crops. 

Grazing management

Caatinga stylo is suited to both continuous and rotational grazing systems and can form a strong sward density with grasses if established correctly. When a high leaf to stem ratio is maintained through good grazing management, a crude protein of 23% can be achieved. 

Animal production

Animal production of 0.6 kg/hd/day liveweight gain (LWG) for 10 months of the year has been seen from steers grazing a mixed Caatinga/Panicum coloratum/native grass pasture, equating to over 100 kg/ha/yr LWG for this period.  

Envirogro Seed Treatment

The Envirogro® seed treatment process is now a tailored seed treatment offering to aid in the establishment and productivity of tropical and subtropical seed varieties. Envirogro is a species-dependent, tailored process that produces the highest quality tropical and subtropical seed through improved seed cleaning, seed dehulling/scarification (where the species requires it) and a customised coating process to improve live seed numbers per hectare.

Envirogro benefits

• Improves seed flowability and ballistic properties
• Improves seed quality and purity for a higher return on investment
• Produces a clean, uniform seed
• Removes weed seed, waste material and contaminants
• Increases bare seed counts through improved cleaning
• Coated with insecticide, polymer and talc/lime (no Rhizobia inoculant applied to tropical legumes)