The effects of clover and nitrogen fertiliser on the presence of pasture pests in dairy pastures

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Popay ◽  
Derrick Wilson ◽  
Colin Ferguson ◽  
David Chapman ◽  
Julia Lee ◽  
...  

A comprehensive dataset obtained from sampling four trials investigating interactions between perennial ryegrass and white clover under two levels of applied nitrogen (N) has highlighted different effects of pasture composition and N use on pasture pests.• For swards with white clover, presence of clover root weevil, whitefringed weevil and grass grub increased under low N by 36%, 11% and 5%, respectively, compared with high N treatments.• High N increased the presence of both Argentine stem weevil and root aphid by 7%.• Unexpectedly, clover reduced the presence of two grass feeders, Argentine stem weevil and black beetle, by 7% and 11% respectively.• Presence of grass grub was 17-30% lower under tetraploid ryegrasses than under diploids.• More clover and reduced N fertiliser inputs could reduce the frequency of black beetle and Argentine stem weevil with environmental benefits.

1974 ◽  
Vol 14 (66) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
CR Kleinig ◽  
JC Noble ◽  
AJ Rixon

Herbage yield, herbage nitrogen, and soil nitrogen accumulation were followed over a five-year period (1958-63) under irrigated annual and perennial pastures established initially with different clovergrass proportions. Species sown in the annual pasture treatments were subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum cv. Tallarook) and annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum cv. Wimmera). Those used in the perennial mixtures were white clover (T. repens cv. Irrigation) and perennial ryegrass (L. perenne cv. Victorian). In the treatments sown to annual or perennial ryegrass only, nitrogenous fertilizer as urea was applied annually at four rates. Total soil nitrogen (mat + 0-91 cm of soil) after five years did not differ significantly for annual pasture and bare ground. In contrast, total soil nitrogen under all perennial pasture treatments, particularly those with a white clover component, was significantly greater than for bare soil (5365 cf. 4181 kg ha-1). Where white clover was sown, nitrogen accumulated at the rate of 258 kg ha-1 per annum compared with 101 kg ha-1 per annum under subterranean clover, the latter barely matching the accumulation rate under perennial ryegrass sown alone without applied nitrogen (105 kg N ha-1 p.a.). Nitrogen accumulation (soil plus mat) was related to both legume and non-legume nitrogen. Perennial pasture, particularly if white clover was present, generally outyielded annual pasture. The total yield of white clover over five years was 29,970 kg ha-1 compared with 11,614 kg ha-1 for subterranean clover. Annual and perennial ryegrasses showed similar yield responses to applied nitrogen. Irrespective of the rate of urea application, nitrogen recovery was low (21-23 per cent).


2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 1232
Author(s):  
J. M. Lee ◽  
K. Elborough ◽  
D. Whittaker ◽  
D. J. Donaghy ◽  
J. R. Roche

Insufficient water availability is one of the most serious environmental stresses for a plant and can be a major limitation to herbage production in many regions. Plant hormones, such as cytokinins, have been reported to reduce the detrimental effects of low water availability in many different plant species. However, there is little research available concerning the effect on pasture grasses. The aim of the present study was to quantify the effect of surface applications of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) before and during water deficit on herbage growth and quality of perennial ryegrass–white clover pastures. Pastures fertilised with BAP were compared with unfertilised pastures and pastures receiving nitrogen. Exogenous BAP application did not significantly affect herbage production or quality relative to unfertilised pastures. Nitrogen fertiliser increased total herbage production, but had little effect on herbage quality compared with BAP. The failure of surface applications of exogenous BAP to improve herbage production or quality suggests that it is not an appropriate method to enhance plant tolerance to water deficit at the concentration applied in this study.


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):  
J.P.J. Eerens ◽  
D.L. Ryan

White clover is often listed as one of the factors contributing to profitable pastoral farming in New Zealand. The positive aspects of white clover have been presented in a balanced manner in publications by scientists, environmentalists and farmers able to exploit these positive aspects. Increasingly, pastures contain sub-optimal levels of clover, as a result of pasture management that is detrimental to clover, including the increasing use of fertiliser nitrogen. In some regions of New Zealand, farmers can legitimately point to pests such as the clover root weevil and factors such as the ryegrass endophyte as causing restrictions in clover production, but this is less the case in Southland. Environmental conditions in Southland are well suited for ryegrass-white clover pastures. Wellmanaged ryegrass-white clover pastures containing the best regional cultivars can achieve high financial returns. A number of trials at the Gore Research Station are reviewed; they demonstrated that on mixed ryegrass-white clover swards farmers can produce nearly 25% more dry matter, 40% more carcass weight and 25% more wool than on pastures with ryegrass alone receiving 270 kg N/ha/year. The yield advantage would have been greater still if they were compared with typical Southland pastures. Not only was 180 kg more carcass and 17 kg more wool produced per hectare on mixed swards, but nitrogen fixation by clover produced more than $300 worth of nitrogen per hectare. The yield advantage achievable from the ryegrass-white clover swards requires specific pasture management, particularly in spring- summer and the use of adapted white clover cultivars. Keywords: cultivars, Lolium perenne, nitrogen, pasture production, perennial ryegrass, set stocking, Trifolium repens, white clover, wool


2003 ◽  
Vol 140 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. WILLIAMS ◽  
D. R. EVANS ◽  
I. RHODES ◽  
M. T. ABBERTON

Three experiments were carried out to investigate the dry matter production of nine white clover (Trifolium repens L.) varieties grown with the same variety of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and subjected to rotational grazing by sheep over a period of 10 years. The experiments differed only in the nitrogen fertilizer added: no nitrogen, 100 kg/ha per year and 200 kg/ha per year. Dry matter (DM) yields of white clover and perennial ryegrass components of the sward were recorded at approximately 6-week intervals during the growing season.Without applied nitrogen, 10-year mean white clover annual DM yields ranged from 2·89–4·54 t/ha. Mean clover content for all varieties ranged from 31–50% for the first 9 years, declining to 20% in the 10th year. The most consistently high yielding variety, AberVantage, gave yields greater than 3·5 t/ha in every year. Similar results were observed for the variety Aran. The 10-year mean annual DM yield of the perennial ryegrass companion (variety Talbot) ranged from 4·41–5·57 t/ha depending on the white clover variety in the mixture. Variation in perennial ryegrass DM yield was of a similar range and pattern as for white clover.In the experiment in which 100 kg N/ha per year was added, 10-year mean white clover annual DM yields ranged from 2·27–3·87 t/ha. The varieties AberVantage and Aran showed yields that fell below 3 t/ha per year in only 1 or 2 years, respectively. Mean clover content for all varieties ranged from 26–38% for the first 9 years, declining to 17·5% in the 10th year. There was no consecutive annual decline in white clover DM yields. The 10-year mean annual DM yields of the perennial ryegrass companion ranged from 6·03–7·57 t/ha.With applied nitrogen fertilizer of 200 kg N/ha per year (Experiment 3), 10-year mean white clover annual DM yields ranged from 1·21–2·67 t/ha. Mean clover content ranged from 12–27% for the 10 years. AberVantage and Aran showed yields consistently above 2 t/ha. No general decline in white clover DM yields was observed although some varieties showed consecutive annual reductions in years 8, 9 and 10. The 10-year mean annual DM perennial ryegrass yields ranged from 7·27–8·68 t/ha.The results show that, under rotational grazing by sheep, white clover can give reliably high yields over a 10-year period. With moderate to high applications of nitrogen fertilizer white clover yields were lower than without nitrogen but they were consistent and sufficient to make a considerable impact on forage quality. There was no evidence for a general decline in clover content until the 10th year of the experiment and no cyclical pattern of annual variation in white clover yield was observed. The implications of these results for the role of white clover in UK agriculture are discussed.


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 amoreilating effect. 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. An associated objective was the evaluation of the use of clover to replace nitrogen fertiliser.


2017 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 251-256
Author(s):  
L. Rossi ◽  
D.F. Chapman ◽  
G.R. Edwards

Abstract A field experiment was conducted for 12 months under irrigation and cutting management to determine if interactions between perennial ryegrass and white clover cultivars of different phenotypes could affect pasture yield and botanical composition during establishment. Four ryegrass and four clover cultivars, differing in leaf and tiller/stolon traits, were grown in all combinations (n=16), along with monocultures of each (n=8), as sub-plots under two nitrogen fertiliser levels (100 or 325 kg N/ha/ year). Dry matter yield and botanical composition were measured on nine occasions and ryegrass and clover population densities were determined four times. Total annual yield was similar for all mixture combinations due to substitution between the sward components. While there were significant yield differences among ryegrass or clover cultivar monocultures, these seldom explained differences in mixture yields. Mixtures yielded more DM than ryegrass monocultures under both N treatments (+1.3 to +3.9 t DM/ha/year). Keywords: perennial ryegrass, white clover, dairy, dry matter yield, nitrogen fertiliser, phenotype, competition


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