Frequent grazing by sheep reduced caucasian clover cover and rhizome mass in ryegrass pasture
Abstract
The responses of hexaploid caucasian clover
(Trifolium ambiguum) to four contrasting grazing
regimes were compared with those of white clover
(T. repens) in an endophytic (Neotyphodium lolii)
hybrid ryegrass pasture on a fertile lowland site.
After 2 years, frequent grazing (set stocking) by
sheep reduced caucasian clover cover to 10%
compared with 25.5% in infrequent grazing
(rotational grazing) treatments (mean spelling time
25 days). Similarly, frequent grazing reduced
caucasian clover rhizome plus root dry weight (780
kg DM/ha when sampled to 100 mm depth in
frequently grazed plots, compared with 3220 kg
DM/ha for infrequent). Under frequent grazing
treatments, mean white clover cover was 21%,
under infrequent hard grazing it was 26% and under
lax infrequent grazing it was 14%. The reduction
in ryegrass tiller population from 5720/m² in the
infrequently and laxly grazed treatments to 4150/
m² in the frequently hard grazed pastures indicated
the severity of that hard grazed treatment. These
results show that in lowland ryegrass pastures on
high fertility sites, the stoloniferous growth form
of white clover may be superior to the rhizomatous
strategy of caucasian clover when grazing by sheep
is frequent throughout spring, summer and autumn.... [Show full abstract]
Keywords
Caucasian clover; clover; Trifolium repens; white clover; grazing frequency; grazing intensity; kura clover; rhizomes; ryegrass; Trifolium ambiguumDate
1998Type
Conference Contribution - Published (Conference Paper)Collections
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10182/4571Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Ecology and management of adventive annual clover species in the South Island hill and high country of New Zealand
Maxwell, Thomas M. R. (Lincoln UniversityChristchurch, New Zealand, 2013)Increasing legume abundance is an important component of pastoral intensification, in providing increased quality feed and nitrogen inputs to nitrogen deficient, hill and high country grassland. Establishment and persistence ... -
Productivity and seedling recruitment of naturalised annual clovers versus sown clovers Trifolium repens and Trifolium subterraneum
Maxwell, Thomas M. R.; Moir, James L.; Edwards, Grant (NZGA, 2014)Naturalised annual clover (NAC) species (suckling clover, cluster clover, striated clover, and haresfoot clover) are commonly present to locally abundant in summer dry hill and high country areas where white and subterranean ... -
Sub clover, cocksfoot and lucerne combine to improve dryland stock production
Brown, H.; Moot, Derrick J.; Lucas, D.; Smith, Malcolm C. (New Zealand Grassland Association., 2006)The temporal (seasonal) pattern of dryland pasture and stock production from four cocksfoot based pastures (mixed with balansa, Caucasian, subterranean or white clover), a ryegrass/white clover pasture and a pure lucerne crop ...