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Tropical pasture legumes such as Desmanthus are expected to improve pasture productivity in the extensive grazing systems of Northern Australia. However, the soils in these areas are often hostile (e.g., hard-setting and nutrient-deficient), which reduces legume emergence and establishment. Furthermore, these soils are often not ameliorated with amendments such as gypsum or starter fertilisers before planting. A pot trial was conducted to investigate differences in the emergence and early growth of four Desmanthus species. The legumes were grown in three alkaline clay soils that were unamended or amended with either gypsum (1 t CaSO4.2H2O ha−1 equivalent), a starter MAP fertiliser (12 kg P ha−1 equivalent), or both gypsum and the starter fertiliser. Seedling emergence was recorded daily and shoot yield was determined after six weeks' growth. Final seedling emergence (as a percentage of viable seeds) varied among the Desmanthus species (c.f. D. leptophyllus = 63%, D. pernambucanus = 68%, D. bicornutus = 85%, and D. virgatus = 86%). On average, across the treatments, gypsum increased seedling emergence by 15%, whereas the starter fertiliser had no effect. The shoot yields and shoot phosphorus content of the Desmanthus species generally increased in response to the starter fertiliser. The collective results demonstrated that there were differences in emergence and early growth among the four Desmanthus species, which indicates that Desmanthus cultivar selection may be important in the relatively hostile soils of Northern Australia. Gypsum was an effective amendment for seedling emergence, whereas the starter fertiliser was an effective amendment to increase legume productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]