Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-08T07:42:54.316Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effects of cutting height on the productivity and composition of perennial ryegrass–white clover swards

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

G. H. P. Acuña
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Sciences, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 3DD, UK
D. Wilman
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Sciences, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 3DD, UK

Summary

All combinations of five cutting heights (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 cm), two rates of P application (0 and 100 kg P/ha per year) and two irrigation treatments (0 and maximum soil water deficit 35 mm) were compared on field plots sown with a mixture of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) in Wales. The cutting and P treatments were applied for 4½ years (1986–90) and the irrigation treatments for 2 years (1987 and 1988). The plots were cut at 4-week intervals from April to October each year.

Applied P and irrigation had only a small effect on the productivity and composition of the swards. The proportion of white clover in the sward was inversely related to the height of cutting, so that clover was almost eliminated by 3 years of 10 cm cutting. This reduction in clover content led to a 50% reduction in herbage yield. Close cutting increased the tiller density of ryegrass in May and June of the first harvest year, but this effect was subsequently reversed as clover competed more strongly with ryegrass under close cutting. The proportion of unsown species, predominantly Agrostis tenuis, was much higher in the third and fourth than in the first and second harvest years and was positively related to the height of cutting. Close cutting depleted soil K and soil water.

Type
Crops and Soils
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Acuña, P., , G. H. (1988). Effects of cutting height, phosphorus and irrigation on white clover and perennial ryegrass in a mixed sward. PhD thesis, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.Google Scholar
Chestnutt, D. M. B. (1992). Effect of sward surface height on the performance of ewes and lambs continuously grazed on grass/clover and nitrogen-fertilized grass swards. Grass and Forage Science 47, 7080.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frame, J. & Newbould, P. (1986). Agronomy of white clover. Advances in Agronomy 40, 188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, W. (1974). Competition among pasture plants. V. Effects of frequency and height of cutting on competition between Agrostis tenuis and Trifolium repens. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 17, 251256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1986). The Analysis of Agricultural Materials, 3rd edn. Reference Book 427. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1988). Fertiliser Recommendations for Agricultural and Horticultural Crops, 5th edn. Reference Book 209. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Morrison, J. (1987). Effects of nitrogen fertilizer. In Managed Grasslands: Analytical Studies (Ed. Snaydon, R. W.), pp. 6170. Ecosystems of the World 17B. Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
National Institute of Agricultural Botany (1989). Recommended varieties of grasses and herbage legumes 1989/90. Farmers' Leaflet no. 4. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Penning, P. D., Orr, R. J., Treacher, T. T., Parsons, A. J., Leafe, E. L., Collett, B. & Crichton, J. (1984). The effect of sward height on the production and utilization of grass by lactating ewes and their twin lambs. Grassland Research Institute Annual Report 1983–84, pp. 4345. Hurley: Grassland Research Institute.Google Scholar
Rudeforth, C. C. (1970). Soils of North Cardiganshire. Harpenden: Soil Survey of England and Wales.Google Scholar
Thomson, D. J. (1984). The nutritive value of white clover. In Forage Legumes (Ed. Thomson, D. J.). British Grassland Society Occasional Symposium No. 16, pp. 7892. Hurley: British Grassland Society.Google Scholar
Turkington, R. (1983). Leaf and flower demography of Trifolium repens L. I. Growth in mixture with grasses. New Phytologist 93, 599616.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilkins, R. J., Morrison, J. & Chapman, P. F. (1981). Potential production from grasses and legumes. In Grassland in the British Economy (Ed. Jollans, J. L.), pp. 390413. Proceedings of a symposium held at the University of Reading. Centre for Agricultural Strategy Paper 10. Reading: Centre for Agricultural Strategy.Google Scholar
Wilman, D. & Hollington, P. A. (1985). Effects of white clover and fertilizer nitrogen on herbage production and chemical composition and soil water. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 104, 453467.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilman, D. & Shrestha, S. K. (1985). Some effects of canopy height on perennial ryegrass and white clover in a field sward. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 105, 7984.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woledge, J., Tewson, V. & Davidson, I. A. (1990). Growth of grass/clover mixtures during winter. Grass and Forage Science 45, 191201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar