ECOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF NATURAL GRASSLAND : III. THE ADAPTABILITY OF THE PASTURE CROPS TO THEIR ESCAPING ON THE ROADSIDE COMMUNITIES

Abstract

It semes that the renovation of natural grassland with the pasture crops is one of the methods to increase the grassland production. The adaptation of grasses and legumes to any locality or region is determined by their tolerance as to competition with other plants. The purpose of the present paper is to investigate ecologically and agronomically an adaptability of the pasture crops at the roadside communities in our stock farm. Some fifty years ago, seeds from these pasture crops were sown by Japanese Army Horse Supply on our stock farm of Kawatabi, in Miyagi Pref. But these pasture crops are not cultivated in the present time. The results of the field survay and the cultivation tests are resumed as follows : the roadside communities is composed of species which are resistant to the influences of treading, trampling and of mowing. Eragrostis ferruginea, Plantago asiatica, Echinochloa Crus-galli and Zoisia japonica which occur in the zone of the most intense treading with high constancy. As the pasture crops, Orchard grass, white clover and red clover shows an increase in the same tendency of the wild plants mentioned above. Redtop and sweet scented vernal grass are not develops with the zonation, and they have common occurrence. In this community tall oat grass and timothy are rare or absent. On the other hand these pasture crops showed a high producing capacity in our experiment of cultivation. Ladino clover, crimson clover and Italian rye grass showed also a high producing capacity, but they were not found on the roadside. From these results, it becomes clear that most of the pasture crops escaping on the roadside communities have the high adaptability in this region.