Nutrients in ryegrass (Lolium spp.), white clover (Trifolium repens) and kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) pastures in relation to season and stage of regrowth in a subtropical environment

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 227 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Fulkerson ◽  
K. Slack ◽  
D. W. Hennessy ◽  
G. M. Hough
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Perennial Ryegrass ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Trifolium Repens ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Pennisetum Clandestinum ◽  
Tiller Stage ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Kikuyu Grass

Summary. On the subtropical north coast of New South Wales, Australia, kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum), biennial ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) and mixed perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)–white clover (Trifolium repens) pastures grazed by dairy cows were plucked pregrazing to simulated grazing height, every 2 weeks for 2 years to determine seasonal changes in various nutrients and in sacco organic matter and nitrogen (N) degradability. Changes in nutrients during regrowth were determined in the ryegrass component of a mixed perennial ryegrass–white clover pasture by sequentially cutting pasture at 3- or 4-day intervals to 5 cm stubble height and non-structural carbohydrates in kikuyu by cutting at 4-day intervals in February–March. There was a significant effect of season on water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) and crude protein (CP) content of perennial ryegrass with regrowth time, resulting in an 8-fold fall in the CP : WSC ratio from the 1 to 3 leaves/tiller stage of regrowth in mid winter, a 2-fold difference in mid spring but with no discernible difference in late spring. The metabolisable energy (ME) values for biennial ryegrass exceeded 11.9 MJ/kg dry matter (DM) from July to September and then fell markedly to <10 MJ/kg DM in November, coinciding with reproductive development. In perennial ryegrass–white clover pastures, mean ME was above 11 MJ/kg DM from May to September, but fell to < 9 MJ/kg DM in December while in kikuyu, the mean ME, over the recognised growing season, was 8.5 MJ/kg DM but in winter it was 9.5 MJ/kg DM. Fibre content in all pasture types showed a significant seasonal trend with the content of acid detergent fibre (ADF) in biennial ryegrass at 17% from May to August while the mean neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content was 37%. In perennial ryegrass–white clover, the mean ADF was <21% from May to August. The NDF content of kikuyu grass was about 60% during the growing season but 40% in winter. The calcium (Ca) : phosphorus (P) ratio in perennial ryegrass rose from <1 : 1 at the 1 leaf/tiller stage to 2.2 : 1 at the 3 leaves/tiller stage of regrowth due to a simultaneous fall in P and a rise in Ca. A fall in potassium (K) and a rise in magnesium (Mg) and Ca content in perennial ryegrass gave a very significant linear fall in K/(Mg + Ca), on a percentage basis, from 8 at the 1 leaf/tiller stage of regrowth, to 2.5 at the 3 leaves/tiller stage of regrowth. In kikuyu, the level of P changed significantly with season falling as the species became dormant. A fall in P and a rise in Ca content resulted in a high Ca : P ratio (2.5 : 1) in spring. The findings of this study give some insight into the reason why the content of various nutrients change in pasture and the implication of this for providing a balanced diet to dairy cows. A knowledge of these changes should provide the opportunity to balance nutrients in pasture by adjusting time of grazing and/or providing supplements of appropriate quality.

scholarly journals Effect of pasture species on milk yield and milk composition

1995 ◽  
pp. 151-156
Author(s):  
Robyn J. Johnson ◽  
N.A. Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Yield ◽  
Perennial Ryegrass ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Trifolium Repens ◽  
Latin Square ◽  
Dactylis Glomerata ◽  
Milk Composition ◽  
Trifolium Repens L ◽  
Dactylis Glomerata L

One 10-day experiment in autumn 1994 then four 10-day experiments throughout the 1994195 lactation in a complete Latin square investigated the effect of pasture species on yield, composition and total colour of milk from dairy cows. Treatments were Grasslands Kopu white clover (Trifolium repens L.), Yatsyn- 1 perennial ryegrass (L&urn perenne L.), Grasslands Kahu timothy (Phfeum pratense L.) and Grasslands Kara cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.) offered at similar allowances of green leaf. Cows grazing white clover produced higher (P

Long-term effects of multiple applications of nitrogen fertiliser on grazed dryland perennial ryegrass/white clover dairy pastures in south-west Victoria. 3. Botanical composition, nutritive characteristics, mineral content, and nutrient selection

2003 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 477 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. R. McKenzie ◽  
J. L. Jacobs ◽  
G. Kearney
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Perennial Ryegrass ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Mineral Content ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
N Application ◽  
Nitrogen Fertiliser ◽  
South West ◽  
Annual Range ◽  
Nutrient Selection

A grazing experiment was undertaken on a commercial dairy farm in south-west Victoria over a 3-year period to study the effects of multiple applications of different rates of nitrogen (N) fertiliser over autumn and winter on dairy pasture species composition, nutrient characteristics, mineral content, and nutrient selection. Four treatments, replicated 3 times in a randomised block design, comprised: zero N (A); 3 applications of 25 kg N/ha (B); 3 applications of 50 kg N/ha (C); and 3 applications of 75 kg N/ha (D).Increasing rates of N fertiliser generally elevated whole sward metabolisable energy (ME) content. The effect of N fertiliser on whole sward ME content was evident through to the end of sampling each year (2–3 months after the last N application). Increasing rates of N fertiliser consistently elevated whole sward crude protein (CP) content. The effect of N fertiliser on whole sward CP content was evident through to the end of sampling each year (2–3 months after the last N application). For each year there was a slight decrease in CP, with Treatments C and D decreasing at a greater rate than treatments A and B. Increasing rates of N fertiliser generally depressed whole sward neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content. The effect of N fertiliser on whole sward NDF content was evident through to the end of sampling each year (2–3 months after the last N application). For each year there was a slight increase in NDF, with Treatments C and D having a lower increase in NDF over time than Treatment A. Nitrogen fertiliser had no effect on whole sward water soluble carbohydrate content.There was no consistent effect of N fertiliser on whole sward pasture mineral content during the growth season (June–December), with mean annual levels of P, K, S, Na, Ca, and Mg satisfying the nutritional requirements of high producing dairy cows and the growth requirements of both perennial ryegrass and white clover.Although N fertiliser had no influence on the concentration of nutrients consumed by grazing dairy cows, the mean annual range in selection differentials for the 3 years for ME (1.06–1.11) and CP (1.18–1.32) concentrations consumed was higher and the NDF (0.85–0.91) lower than those of the pasture.Each year there was an increase in perennial ryegrass, with Treatments B and C having a higher overall ryegrass presence compared with Treatment A. Nitrogen fertiliser had no effect on white clover, other grasses, weeds, or dead fractions.

scholarly journals The digestion of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne cv. Melle) and white clover (Trifolium repens cv. Blanca) by grazing cattle

1988 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Ulyatt ◽  
D. J. Thomson ◽  
D. E. Beever ◽  
R. T. Evans ◽  
M. J. Haines
Keyword(s):  
Small Intestine ◽  
Perennial Ryegrass ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Trifolium Repens ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrate ◽  
Derived Relations ◽  
Primary Growth

1. Pure swards of perennial ryegrass (Loliwn perenne cv. Melle) as a primary growth (May), trimmed primary growth (early June) and regrowth (late June), and white clover (Trifolium repens cv. Blanca) as a mature primary growth (July) and vegetative regrowth (August), were grazed by twelve Friesian steers (mean body-weights throughout experiment 152–231 kg) at daily allocation rates of forage which provided dry matter (DM) intakes ranging from 28 to 36 g/kg body-weight).2. Total nitrogen contents of the three ryegrasses declined with season (37–20 g/kg DM), but in vitro organic matter (OM) digestibilities were relatively constant (0.76–0.79). The clovers had higher N (average 366 g/kg DM) and lower fibre and water-soluble carbohydrate contents than the grasses, and in vitro OM digestibilities of 0.70 and 076 respectively.3. Duodenal digesta samples were obtained, using a portable sampling apparatus from the animals grazing the pasture, and estimates of the flow of nutrients into the small intestine were derived using two indigestible markers which were continuously infused into the rumen using a portable infusion apparatus. Forage intakes were calculated from estimates of faecal output of indigestible OM and the predicted in vivo OM digestibilities of the forages consumed. Coefficients of variation for OM flow to the small intestine and OM intake were 11.8 and 10.9 % respectively.4. The apparent digestion of OM in the rumen ranged from 722 to 741 g/kg digestible OM intake and from 681 to 711 g/kg digestible OM intake for the grass and clover diets respectively. Substantial losses of ingested N before the small intestine were measured on all diets except the regrowth ryegrass. Losses were 0.30 and 040 g/g N intake on the primary growth ryegrass and the regrowth clover respectively; N contents were 37 and 39 g/kg DM respectively.5. Comparison of the values obtained at pasture with that obtained when similar diets were offered to housed cattle (Beever et al. 1985) indicated that combined relations relating duodenal OM and non-ammonia-N (NAN) flows to OM and N intakes respectively could be established for each diet. For two diets (primary-growth grass and regrowth clover) the relations were curvilinear; for the remaining diets, the derived relations were linear.6. The effects of forage species, stage of maturity and variations in the stem: leaf ratio in the grasses, on nutrient supply in grazing animals are discussed, and a combined relation for all grazed and harvested forages examined in this and in a previous study reported by Beever et al. (1985) is established. The relation Y = 1.430 - 0.0169X (r072, residual sd 0.140). where Y is NAN flow/N intake (g/g) and X is N content in the crop (gfkg OM), indicates that net losses of N across the rumen will occur on diets which contain more than 25.5 g N/kg OM.7. Possible limitations in the techniques available to measure nutrient digestion and supply in grazing ruminants are discussed.

scholarly journals Methane emissions by dairy cows fed increasing proportions of white clover (Trifolium repens) in pasture

2004 ◽  
pp. 151-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.M. Lee ◽  
S.L. Woodward ◽  
G.C. Waghorn ◽  
D.A. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Perennial Ryegrass ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Trifolium Repens ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Ch4 Production ◽  
Holstein Friesian ◽  
Metabolisable Energy ◽  
Cow Performance

Methane (CH4) production from ruminant digestion has a significant impact on the New Zealand greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and represents a loss of about 10% of metabolisable energy (ME) intake. Previous trials with sheep and cattle have demonstrated significantly lower methane losses per unit feed intake from legumes compared to grass dominant pasture. Most trials have compared forages fed as sole diets but white clover (Trifolium repens) is usually fed with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) as a mixed pasture, as it complements ryegrass for animal production. An indoor feeding trial was conducted in December 2003 with thirty-two Holstein-Friesian dairy cows in mid-lactation to determine effects of increasing proportions of white clover on methane emissions and cow performance. Cows were housed indoors and fed perennial ryegrass with 0, 15, 30 or 60% white clover ad libitum on a dry matter (DM) basis. Increasing proportions of white clover resulted in linear increases in dry matter intakes (DMI) and reductions in methane per kg DM eaten, although the extent to which CH4 production/kg DMI was lowered was less than anticipated from previous measurements from sheep fed white clover as a sole diet. DMI of cows fed 60% white clover was 20.5 vs. 15.6 kg DM/cow/day for 100% perennial ryegrass (P

scholarly journals Management and productivity of white clover in a kikuyu grass sward in subtropical Australia

1995 ◽  
pp. 199-201
Author(s):  
W.J. Fulkerson ◽  
M. Reeves
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
Trifolium Repens ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Root Knot Nematode ◽  
Pennisetum Clandestinum ◽  
Defoliation Treatment ◽  
Kikuyu Grass ◽  
Grass Sward ◽  
Heavy Infestation ◽  
Subtropical Australia

This plot-cut study, on heavy clay soil, evaluated the establishment, productivity and persistence of Haifa white clover (Trifolium repens) in a vigorous sward of kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum). Defoliation treatments were 5 or 12 cm stubble height in spring and 14 days or "when ready" (lower leaves beginning to senesce) in spring and autumn. Over the 2t/2 years of the study and under optimal defoliation treatment (5 cm stubble height in spring and at the "when ready" defoliation interval in spring and autumn), total yield of forage was 19 952 kg DMfha/yr, of which 57% was white clover. The reason for the loss of vigour of white clover in year 3 is not clear. It may have been due to the heavy infestation of the root knot nematode Meloidogyne or to defoliation management over the second summer, or both. Management at the transition phases between the two pastures (early autumn and late spring) is critical to success and is explained in the light of farmer experience. Keywords: defoliation management, Pennisetum clandestinum, subtropics, Trifolium repens

The effect of perennial ryegrass ploidy and white clover inclusion on milk production of dairy cows

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bríd McClearn ◽  
Trevor Gilliland ◽  
Clare Guy ◽  
Michael Dineen ◽  
Fergal Coughlan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Perennial Ryegrass ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Application Rate ◽  
Dairy Farmers ◽  
Increase Milk Production ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Fertiliser Application ◽  
Grazing Dairy Cows

Grazed grass is considered the cheapest feed available for dairy cows in temperate regions, and to maximise profits, dairy farmers must utilise this high-quality feed where possible. Recent research has reported that including white clover (Trifolium repens L.) in grass swards can have a positive effect on milk production. The aim of the present study was to quantify the effect of tetraploid and diploid perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.; PRG) swards sown with and without white clover on the milk production of grazing dairy cows. Four grazing treatments were used for the study; tetraploid-only PRG swards, diploid-only PRG swards, tetraploid PRG with white clover swards and diploid PRG with white clover swards. Thirty cows were assigned to each treatment and swards were rotationally grazed at a stocking rate of 2.75 cows/ha and a nitrogen-fertiliser application rate of 250 kg/ha annually. There was no significant effect of ploidy on milk production. Over the present 4-year study, cows grazing the PRG–white clover treatments had greater milk yields (+597 kg/cow.year) and milk-solid yield (+48 kg/cow.year) than cows grazing the PRG-only treatments. This significant increase in milk production suggests that the inclusion of white clover in grazing systems can be effectively used to increase milk production of grazing dairy cows.

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