Files
Abstract
An Australian “ley” farming type of
system, which integrates medic
pasture with livestock in place of
conventional summer fallow, is a
promising technology having the
potential to provide important
benefits for improving winter wheat
production in the Central High
Plains of the United States. Medic is
an annual legume that regenerates
yearly from a soil seed bank, and in
the pasture phase of the cropping
sequence, it provides hay or grazing
for livestock. Farming systems with
medics form the foundation for
flexible and sustainable semiarid
wheat farming systems in Australia.
This article reports the performance
of a specific medic specie (Medicago
rigidula), which can replace fallow
for more profitable winter wheat
production in the U.S. Central High
Plains.