Pasture utilisation and its effect on herbage quality
Abstract
An existing grazing trial on an irrigated Wakanui silt loam at Lincoln
College, Canterbury, was sampled at five consecutive grazings (January
to July, 1983) to determine the effects of pasture utilisation on herbage
composition and in vitro digestibility of regrowth.
Rotational grazing of sheep at two stocking rates, high (27.5
ewes/ha) and low (17.5 ewes/ha), resulted in different levels of
utilisation. Low utilisation (27%) produced a sward with a high dead
material content (44%) and low in vitro digestibility of the whole sward
(<70%). The high stocked sward (utilisation, 60%) had a greater
percentage of green material (83%) but total green yields were only half
those at the low stocking rate. The in vitro digestibility of the sward
under the high stocking rate was Z-70%, mainly as a result of only a
small proportion of dead material with low (46%) digestibility.... [Show full abstract]
Keywords
pasture utilisation; herbage composition; dead matter; green herbage yeild; in vitro digestibility; stocking rateFields of Research
0703 Crop and Pasture ProductionDate
1984Type
Conference Contribution - Published (Conference Paper)Collections
Copyright © The Authors and New Zealand Grassland Association.