Reseeding Mediterranean dryland cereal fallows using Stipa lagascae R. & Sch. Influence of cutting regime during the establishment phase

When grass species are used to reseed depleted drylands, grazing is often prescribed during the establishment phase. Total protection from grazing often leads to the presence of persistent weed species and is hard to accept by land users keen to graze reseeded land as soon as possible. The particular case of reseeding arid Mediterranean cereal fallows with one native grass species, Stipa lagascae (Stipa), in Tunisia was tested. Seedlings, derived from two different seed sources (selected and bulk), and volunteer annual weed species underwent four different cutting treatments to ground level (early cut, late cut, early and late cuts and no cuts). No effect of any of the treatments on seedling survival or dry matter mass of Stipa seedlings was found. It was concluded that Stipa seedlings are indifferent to the presence of annual weed species and can tolerate more than one cut during the year of establishment. In the context of the study, early grazing of reseeded fallows is worth investigating further. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.