scholarly journals EFFECT OF SHEEP GRAZING REGIME ON PERFORMANCE OF MATUA PRAIRIE GRASS

Author(s):  
R.T. Alexander

Persistency and productivity of irrigated 'Grasslands Matua' prairie grass pastures were measured under four sheep grazing regimes, frequent or infrequent (grazed 3 weekly or 6 weekly) coupled with lax or severe defoliation (grazed to 7.5 cm or 2.5 cm). Matua was also compared with 'Grasslands Nui' and Yates 'Ellett' perennial ryegrasses under frequent severe grazing. These are interim results from two experiments sown in successive years. There were few consistent differences among grazing treatments of Matua pastures. However, the Matua content of pastures tended to be less under frequent grazing. In the third year of Experiment 1, infrequent grazing to 2.5 cm resulted in significantly hlgher annual production than other Matua treatments. 'Eiiett' ryegrass tended to outyield 'Grasslands Nui' in the first year but subsequently there was little difference in yields. The dry matter production of 'Ellett ryegrass was not significantly different from the best Matua treatment in any year. More herbage was lost through trampling and decay in the infrequently grazed Matua pastures than in the frequently grazed Matua or ryegrass pastures. After three years, all Matua pastures contained more weeds and more volunteer grasses than did ryegrass pastures. Keywords: prairie grass, Matua, ryegrass, Nul, Ellett, grazing management, lax grazing, severe grazing, irrigation.

1982 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 705 ◽  
Author(s):  
BA Rowe

A simple relation between the annual wool production per animal (y) and the amount of pasture dry matter produced per animal (x) was derived and tested using the results from a grazing experiment in which the effects of superphosphate and stocking rate on wool and pasture dry matter production were measured from pastures which were continuously grazed by Merino wethers for 3 years. The linear relation, y = a + b/x, accounted for 63% of the variance in wool production per animal in the first year, 82 % in the second and 97 % in the third. Exclusion of an outlier from the first year results increased the variance accounted for to 85 %. This model is simpler and more precise than some others that have been published. It is also consistent with the curvilinear relation between production per animal (y) and pasture production per animal (x).


1966 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.G. Campbell

1. Net pasture dry matter production and available pasture dry matter were measured over 3 years in a small-scale replica of the study of the effects of dairy cow grazing management and stocking rate reported by McMeekan & Walshe (1963).2. The four treatments were(i) Controlled rotational grazing, light stocking rate (0.95 cows/acre).(ii) Controlled rotational grazing, heavy stocking rate (1.19 cows/acre).(iii) Uncontrolled, set stocked grazing, light stocking rate (0.95 cows/acre).(iv) Uncontrolled, set stocked grazing, heavy stocking rate (1.19 cows/acre).3. The pasture measurement technique employed measured net pasture production (gains through new growth minus losses from all sources). It is argued that this parameter, rather than absolute pasture production, governs the changes in the dry matter feed supply to the grazing animal.


1995 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 1401 ◽  
Author(s):  
RR Gault ◽  
MB Peoples ◽  
GL Turner ◽  
DM Lilley ◽  
J Brockwell ◽  
...  

Nodulation, N2 fixation (estimated by 15N natural abundance methods) and dry matter production were studied in a lucerne (Medicago sativa) crop managed for hay production at Ginninderra Experiment Station, A.C .T. Measurements were taken in the year of establishment and during two subsequent growing seasons. There were three treatments: (1) no inoculation and no annual fertilizer applied, (2) initial inoculation and superphosphate applied annually, (3) no inoculation, superphosphate applied annually and ammonium sulfate periodically. Before planting and after each growth season, soil was analysed for extractable mineral nitrogen, total nitrogen and the 15N natural abundance of this nitrogen, to the depth explored by lucerne roots. Before planting, no appropriate root-nodule bacteria (Rhizobium meliloti) were detected in the soil and initially plants were nodulated only in the inoculated treatment. Thereafter nodulation increased on the other treatments. Eight months after sowing there were no differences between treatments in numbers of R. meliloti g-l soil or in nodulation. In the third growing season, almost 30 kg ha-1 (dry wt) of nodules were recovered to a depth of 25 cm. These nodules were primarily located on fine, ephemeral roots and many appeared to be renewed after cutting of the lucerne. In the year of establishment, dry matter yields (0% moisture) totalled 3 to 4 t ha-1 in three hay cuts. In succeeding years, total yields were in the range 10 to 13 t ha-1 in four or five cuts per season. Nitrogen removed in the harvested lucerne reached 340 to 410 kg N ha-lyr-l in the second and third years and between 65 and 96% of this N arose from N2 fixation, depending on the method of calculation used. Poorer dry matter production and N2 fixation in treatment 1 in the third growing season was attributed to an insufficient supply of available phosphorus. Fixed N removed in Lucerne hay from treatment 2 totalled at least 640 kg N ha-1 in the three years of the experiment. Also, there were substantial increases in soil nitrogen due to lucerne growth. Although soil compaction made the quantification difficult, at the end of the experiment it was estimated that there was at least an extra 800 kg N ha-1 in the total soil nitrogen under lucerne compared to strips of Phalaris aquatica grown between the lucerne plots. It was concluded that lucerne contributed at least the same amount of fixed nitrogen to the soil as was being removed in the harvested hay.


Author(s):  
I.P.M. Mcqueen ◽  
J.A. Baars

Dry matter production data for pure lucerne, overdrilled lucerne and pasture are presented for 14 sites on pumice soils. On average, the annual dry matter yield of lucerne, harvested at early basal shoot movement, was 50% higher than from pasture, ranging from 128% higher on a drought-prone soil where the pasture was dominant browntop to 33% on a more moisture-retentive soil type where the pasture was ryegrass dominant. From April until late October there was little difference in total dry matter between lucerne and pasture, although pasture had a .more even distribution of usable production than lucerne 'managed for maximum yield. Attempts to fill the winter/spring gap in lucerne production through introducing grasses and cereals have met with variable success. It is suggested that, on the more moisture-retentive soils, pasture production could be improved through grazing management and the use of more drought-resistant cultivars. Such an approach may meet the feed demands of animals more closely than an increasing dependence on lucerne with its specific management requirements.


Author(s):  
J.E. Vipond ◽  
G. Swift ◽  
J. FitzSimons ◽  
T.H. McClelland ◽  
J.A. Milne ◽  
...  

Lamb performance at grass falls in July/August on upland farms. Allowing sward height to rise has been recognised as having an ameliorating effect [Keeling, 1987). The objective of this trial was to determine the influence of both sward quantity (sward height) and sward quality [sward type) on ewe and lamb performance from mid April to September. A further objective was the evaluation of clover as an alternative to nitrogen fertiliser.Three contrasting perennial ryegrass based swards were established in May 1987 for use in 1988 and 1989: a late heading diploid variety (D). CONTENDER and a late heading tetraploid variety [T) CONDESA sown alone or with S184 small leaved white clover [TO]. [D] swards represent the control being the normal upland pasture type. [T] companion ryegrass varieties have higher palatability and intake characteristics and, producing fewer tillers, are a compatible companion grass to white clover. Small leaved white clover was used owing to its higher persistency and dry matter production under continuous sheep grazing.


Author(s):  
R.B. Allen ◽  
I.R. Mcdonald ◽  
N.A. Cullen

White clover (Trifolium repens), red clover (T. pratense), subtcrrnnean clover (T. subterraneum) and alsike clover (T. hybridum) were sown singly or in combinations at three sites in Otago. Ryegrass (Lolium perenne) was included in all clover treatments and was also sown alone. Lucerne (Medicago sativa) was sown alone at two sites. Herbage dry matter production was measured over a three-year period. At the high fertility lnvermay site, white and red clovers gave similar total and legume dry matter production and were markedly superior to alsike and subterranean clovers. White and nlsike clovers were most productive at the higher altitude, low fertility Berwick site, and at the dry, medium fertility Dunback site red clover produced the highest yields. Lucerne greatly outyielded all other species in the second and third years at Invermay and in the third year at Dunback.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-46
Author(s):  
Ayana Angassa Abdeta ◽  
Mulugeta Gudisa Gudisa Gudisa ◽  
Aster Abebe Abebe ◽  
Kenea Feyisa Feyisa ◽  
Alemayehu Mengistu Mengistu

This study was conducted in Adami-Tullu Jido-Kombolcha and Arsi Negelle districts, south central Ethiopia. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the interactive effects of grazing management systems and rangeland sites on dry-matter production and chemical composition of herbaceous plants in south central Ethiopia. Data were analyzed using GLM procedure in SPSS 16.0 version, which was used for mean comparisons using post-hoc t-test that can be employed to compare mean differences for enclosure and open-grazed areas. To test the effects of management systems and altitudinal variation on dry-matter production and chemical composition of herbaceous species, mixed model analysis was employed using sample site as a random variable while grazing management systems and altitude were fixed variables. A total of 28 herbaceous species were identified. Of the identified herbaceous species, 20 species were grasses, 2 species were legumes while 6 species were forbs. Among the recorded grass species, some were highly desirable, while others were in the categories of intermediate in terms of desirability and less desirable. We identified the dominant and common grass species that included: Arstida adscensionis, Cenchrus ciliarus, Chloris gayana, Chloris roxburghiana, Bothriochloa insculpta, Eragrostis papposa, Heteropogon contorus, Panicum maximum, Indigofer spinosa, Tephrosia pumila, Sporobolus pyrmidalis, Themeda triandra, B. nigropedata, Ocimum basilicum, Amaranthus dubis, Tribulos terrestris and Achyrantes aspera. The chemical composition of herbaceous plants were analyzed for DM, CP, NDF, ADF, ADL and Ash comparing two grazing management systems and three rangeland sites as patch mosaic units. The results of the present analysis showed that the average CP content in the open-grazed areas was significantly (P<0.05) higher than that of the enclosed areas. The upper and middle rangeland sites displayed significantly (P<0.05) higher CP content for the open-grazed areas than the enclosure management across the study areas. The present findings suggest that the DM, NDF, ADF, ADL and Ash contents of herbaceous species was significantly (P<0.05) lower in the open-grazed areas than in the enclosure management.


Author(s):  
S.C. Moloney ◽  
R.J.M. Hay ◽  
J.A. Lancashire

The performance of Kopu white clover was compared with that ot Huia and Pitau under intensive dairy grazing management at Taupo and the Manawatu. Sampling included both dry matter production and detailed white clover stolon and leaf measurements. These trials have shown that there are significant advantages to be gained from the use of Kopu over both Huia and Pitau. in rotationally grazed cattle swards, particularly during autumn and winter. At the Taupe site where Kopu was sown with high endophyte perennial ryegrass, seasonal white clover yields from Kopu were 120% greater than from Huia in autumn and 160% in winter. At the Manawatu site with Matua prairie grass as the grass component, the advantage of Kopu over Pitau was 105% in autumn, increasing lo 150% by winter. These results are discussed in relation to the significance of Kopu to dairy farming in the central and southern North Wand region. Keywords: rotationally grazed swards. cool season activity, erect habit, dairy pasture, intensive dairying


1962 ◽  
Vol 2 (7) ◽  
pp. 221 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJT Norman

At Katherine, N.T., between 1959-60 and 1961-62, the performance of Townsville lucerne alone and of mixtures of Townsville lucerne with Gayndah buffel grass, Biloela buffel grass, birdwood grass, and Sorghum almum was compared at three frequencies of wet-season cutting. The two most satisfactory mixtures, Townsville lucerne with Gaynahh buffel and birdwood grass, differed little in performance. Over three years, their average dry matter production exceeded that of Townsville lucerne alone by 45 per cent, but average nitrogen production was not appreciably greater than that of the pure legume pasture. Biloela buffel grass is considered to be an unsuitable companion grass for Townsville lucerne because of its competitive power. After three years, the dry matter contribution of the legume in Biloela buffel mixtures was only 18 per cent under the most favourable cutting treatment. The Sorghum almum mixture gave the highest dry matter yield in the first year, but the grass did not survive well, and by the third year the pasture was mainly Townsville lucerne. Sorghum almum may be useful in providing bulk in the early years of an intended pure legume pasture. The role of a perennial grass component in Townsville lucerne pastures is discussed.


1986 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 495 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Ferraris ◽  
DA Charles-Edwards

A sweet sorghum (cv. Wray) and a forage sorghum (cv. Silk) were grown in south-east Queensland without water deficit at two densities in 0.75 m rows on four occasions between late September and mid January. Tiller and branch numbers, and dry matter production, were recorded at appearance of the third leaf ligule, panicle initiation, anthesis, soft-dough stage, maturity and 3 weeks after maturity. Light interception was measured every 2 weeks. The time between all the studied phenological events up to anthesis was shortened with delay in sowing date except for that between appearance of the third ligule and initiation in cv. Silk. The time between anthesis and maturity lengthened with the delay in sowing date of both cultivars. Rate of development was a function of ambient temperature to the third ligule stage and again during maturation. Tiller and branch production were greatest in cv. Silk, decreased with delay in sowing date for both sorghums and was increased by the high density. The estimated assimilate flux required to sustain basal tillers was substantially lower in cv. Silk than in cv. Wray. This flux increased with temperature. In early sown crops, dry matter yields of cv. Wray were greater than those of cv. Silk. Close spacing increased dry matter yields up to anthesis, but by maturity the effect of spacing had been reduced. Cv. Wray produced a larger leaf canopy more rapidly than cv. Silk, although the partitioning of dry matter to leaf tissue only differed between cultivars after canopy closure. The efficiency with which crops used intercepted light energy to produce new above-ground dry matter changed during their ontogeny. It is suggested that early changes in efficiency were a consequence of altered partitioning to roots. The effect of sowing date and spacing on efficiency of light use was slight until the maturation phase, when efficiency decreased with delay in sowing date and at high density. Water use efficiency differed in a similar way to light use efficiency. The relationships found in this study indicate that sorghum growth models need to recognise differences in the morphological development of sorghum types.


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