There are many ways to use Old Man Saltbush; some suggestions include:

• Rotational grazing
• Alley Farming
• For grazing during a property’s feed gap period
• As a fodder reserve or strategy for drought
• Soil Erosion
• Revegetation understorey in conjunction with other plant species or on its own
• Saline soil regeneration or prevention
• For use in future Carbon Emissions Trading schemes
• For use as clearing offsets
• Irrigation

Rotational Grazing

This is the recommended method to graze Old Man Saltbush which increases the carrying capacity on grazing land. Rotational grazing gives the biggest return on investment in terms of time, money and resources. The figures always vary from place to place and year to year. Some figures have indicated that in a rotational grazing system which includes Old Man Saltbush may carry 4 times more stock per hectare in the first year of grazing use and at least 6 times from each year after.

Old Man Saltbush is particularly effective in rotational grazing situations because it has adapted to this style of grazing over the history of its evolution. Its massive root system is very efficient at harvesting moisture and the roots also store energy for the plant while it is defoliated and into the recovery cycle.

Old Man Saltbush has no obvious dormant period but like most plants growth rates slow in winter due to lower temperatures and less sunlight. It is usually frost tolerant to –8OC, therefore with careful observation and management it may be grazed year-round. The recovery or rest cycle between grazing episodes needs to be included for the best results form the commercial Old Man Saltbush plantation.

The simplest form of rotational grazing involves four fenced cells within the plantation. This is the minimum number of grazing cells to be used when the maximum grazing duration is about three months. The stored energy in the roots will almost have been exhausted once saltbushes are grazed for three months and the plant is almost totally defoliated. A defoliated grazing cell of saltbush will then need nine months to recover after three months of grazing.

Generally, the quicker and harder each cell is grazed to the determined level of defoliation the quicker the plants will recover from each livestock grazing period. This is because not all the stored root energy has been expended during the plant’s defoliation and the plant’s recovery is then quicker, this ultimately means the quicker the stock will be able to graze that same cell

If additional fenced grazing cells are used in the saltbush system, the quicker each grazing cycle within the system may become. An efficient grazing method is to use at least 13 grazing cells, with each grazing period being two weeks. The recovery time after two weeks of intensive grazing of saltbush is about six months. This means that each cell can be grazed twice a year instead of just once. So therefore the quicker a stand is grazed, the quicker it will regenerate!

The number of stock able to utilise each Old Man Saltbush commercial plantation system can be calculated from experience bearing in mind that all areas are unique. A general stocking rate rule aims to see about 90% of the leaves are grazed in the time allocated to each grazing cell. It is not advisable to reach 100% leaf defoliation of the bushes for the reason that the stock are already out of feed!

Alley Farming

Old Man Saltbush planted in wide alleys with crop stubble near Balranald, 2007.

It is suggested to plant 20% of a cropping paddock out into hedge rows of Old Man Saltbush to create cropping areas between each saltbush hedge. The width of each cropping strip would be designed to be compatible with the farming plant already in use on the property; this would then integrate livestock production into the cropping production programmes.

Crop production occurs between the hedged rows of saltbush and the stubble may be utilised as a carbohydrate supply to the stock. This way the saltbushes are rested between grazing episodes while the crop grows and the important carbohydrates are available during the saltbush grazing phase via the stubble. This system lifts the farms overall productivity and profitability

Feed Gap

If there is a time of the year on a property where there is a lack of feed, or lack of green feed, consider a plantation of Old Man Saltbush. It may provide a body of feed to plug the short fall. Old man saltbush can supply protein during these difficult times.

Fodder Reserve or Drought Strategy.

When solely used in this situation the Old Man Saltbush plants may easily grow far too large for sheep to graze the upper leaves of the bushes. Also, if left unused for too long plants become woody and unnecessarily develop trunks at the expense of the useful leaf production. It is best that a regular use of a saltbush plantation occurs to keep them out of this form.

It is important though to say, that once grazing commences, do not to continually graze plants for longer than 3-4 months this may lead to permanent damage to the stand.

If the Old Man Saltbush plantation is solely a drought reserve, there is still remains the benefits of creating a habitat for animals and birds too, and if the patch is being used to regenerate an area and carbon emissions trading may become a viable option in the future.

Soil Erosion.

Old Man Saltbush and its extensive root system is an ideal choice to plant in areas that show signs of soil erosion. Once established the roots stabilise the soil which then arrests further damage at the site. Over time water and wind impact is lessened by the plants above ground parts and leaves. Old Man Saltbush needs serious consideration when faced with an important erosion situation.

Revegetation

Old Man Saltbush may be used on its own or in conjunction with other plant species to revegetate an area of a property.

Examples would be regenerating saline areas, previously cleared areas and mined areas, degraded areas from soil erosion, beautification or fire breaks. This is particularly applicable to the plains west of the Great Divide as that is where old man saltbush species originated.

Salinity Soil Regeneration and Prevention

Old man Saltbush is a halophyte, that is to say that it has the ability to grow in, or tolerates very salty soil. The efficiency of the plant is actually increased when growing on salty land. Old Man Saltbush can endure soil water half the strength of sea-water (25,000 parts per million) provided there is free drainage.

Saltbush plants can withstand shallow flooding for some periods. The roots do not mind being water-logged, at least on a part-time basis. Thus the saltbush can be grown in all but the very worst areas of salinity, provided that the groundwater is not right at the surface.

In preventing salinity plant the Old Man Saltbush shrubs close to the potential problem area. A large enough plantation with their massive root systems will then intercept the saline groundwater before it becomes a problem area at the soil surface. The wonderful deep roots of the saltbush plants can intercept and use the troublesome water and this act lowers and maintains the water table underground at an acceptable level.

In the regeneration of an already saline area large areas surrounding the problem are firstly planted with Old Man Saltbush. Gradually, as the water table is lowered in the problem area, more Old Man Saltbush is then planted closer and closer to the seepage centre until eventually the whole area has Old Man Saltbush on it quietly keeping the saline water out of harm’s way and the area is useful again.

A Government-sponsored summit on solutions to the ever-increasing problem of salinity has endorsed the use of saltbush plantations in conjunction with trees and other deep-rooted plants to reduce groundwater levels and provide economic returns on affected lands. Saltbush will tolerate the higher concentrations of salt and provide greater economic returns than the other plant selections.

Carbon Emissions Trading

See “Carbon Emissions Trading” page on this web site.

Clearing Offsets

A discussion paper has been circulated in the Dept of Land and Water Conservation (now the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources).

This document considers “clearing offsets”. This is a situation where a vegetation clearing application may be approved if another plantation of similar size or biomass were established on another site. There is much to be worked through on this concept, but it is possible that Old Man Saltbush may be included in the offset plantation.

Irrigation

Very little information is available relating to the irrigation of an Old Man Saltbush plantation but there is potential to irrigate the saltbush plants to boost plant growth and in turn increasing biomass production per hectare.

The recovery time following a grazing episode would then lessen considerably because the needs of each plant can be met immediately.

The already significant increase in gross margins of a grazing enterprise based on rotational grazing of Old Man Saltbush in dry land situations is sound. Irrigation of old man saltbush plantations could multiply these benefits further.