Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-jbqgn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-19T00:37:58.066Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Forage yield and quality interactions between white clover and contrasting ryegrass varieties in grazed swards

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

D. R. Evans ,
M. O. Humphreys  and
T. A. Williams
D. R. Evans
Affiliation:
Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 3EB, UK
M. O. Humphreys
Affiliation:
Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 3EB, UK
T. A. Williams
Affiliation:
Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 3EB, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The impact of white clover on seasonal yield and nutritive value traits in perennial ryegrass was investigated using six ryegrass varieties which expressed contrasting levels of water soluble carbohydrate (WSC). These were sown in an upland environment at Syfydrin, near Aberystwyth, in mixtures with white clover and in monocultures. Plots were grazed by sheep and sampled during 1991–93. Grass yields in mixtures and monocultures were similar except during mid to late summer when clover contents were high. White clover had a considerably lower WSC content but a much higher crude protein (CP) content than the ryegrasses. The WSC content of grasses in mixed swards was consistently lower than in monocultures and markedly so during mid to late summer. Use of ryegrass varieties with a relatively high WSC content can compensate for this depletion. Consequently high WSC grasses may reduce the amounts of nitrogen excreted by ruminants grazing mixed swards by increasing the efficiency of protein use from clover.

Type
Crops and Soils
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 126 , Issue 3 , May 1996 , pp. 295 - 299
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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

Beever, D. E. (1993). Ruminant animal production from forages: present position and future opportunities. In Proceedings of the XVII International Grassland Congress 1993, pp. 535–542. New Zealand & Australia. New Zealand Grassland Association.Google Scholar
Beever, D. E., Terry, R. A., Cammell, S. B. & Wallace, A. S. (1978). The digestion of spring and autumn harvested perennial ryegrass by sheep. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 90, 463–470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buttery, P. J. & Lewis, D. (1982). Nitrogen metabolism in the rumen. In Forage Protein in Ruminant Animal Production: British Society of Animal Production Occasional Symposium No. 6 (Eds Thomson, D. J., Beever, D. E. & Gunn, R. G.), pp. 1–11. Thames Ditton: British Society of Animal Production.Google Scholar
Davies, D. A., Fothergill, M. & Jones, D. (1989). Assessment of contrasting perennial ryegrasses, with and without white clover, under continuous sheep stocking in the uplands. 2. The value of white clover for lamb production. Grass and Forage Science 44, 441–450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dove, H. & Milne, J. A. (1994). Digesta flow and rumen microbial protein production in ewes grazing perennial ryegrass. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 45, 1229–1245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, D. R., Williams, T. A. & Evans, S. A. (1992). Evaluation of white clover varieties under grazing and their role in farm systems. Grass and Forage Science 47, 342–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Humphreys, M. O. (1984). Breeding for seasonal consistency in perennial ryegrass for pastures. In Development, Construction and Multiplication of Fodder Crop Varieties: Proceedings of Eucarpia Fodder Crops Section Meeting (Ed. Simon, U.), pp. 57–70. Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany: Lehrstuhl fur Grunland und Futterbau der Technischen Universitat Munchen.Google Scholar
Humphreys, M. O. (1989 a). Water-soluble carbohydrates in perennial ryegrass breeding. II. Cultivar and hybrid progeny performance in cut plots. Grass and Forage Science 44, 237–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Humphreys, M. O. (1989 b). Water-soluble carbohydrates in perennial ryegrass breeding. III. Relationships with herbage production, digestibility and crude protein content. Grass and Forage Science 44, 423–430.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrison, J. (1984). Improving the efficiency of grassland production. In Grassland Research Today (Ed. Hardcastle, J. E. Y.), pp. 4–5. London: Agricultural and Food Research Council.Google Scholar
Ojima, K. & Isawa, T. (1968). The variation of carbohydrates in various species of grasses and legumes. Canadian Journal of Botany 46, 1507–1511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pollock, C. J. & Cairns, A. J. (1991). Fructan metabolism in grasses and cereals. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 42, 77–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Radojevic, I., Simpson, R. J., St John, J. A. & Humphreys, M. O. (1994). Chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of lines of Lolium perenne selected for high concentrations of water-soluble carbohydrate. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 45, 901–912.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scholefield, D. & Tyson, K. C. (1992). Comparing the levels of nitrate leaching from grass/clover and N-fertilised grass swards grazed with beef cattle. In Proceedings of the European Grassland Federation 14th General Meeting, pp. 530–533. Lahti, Finland: European Grassland Federation.Google Scholar
Thomson, D. J. (1984). The nutritive value of white clover. In Forage Legumes: British Grassland Society Occasional Symposium No. 16 (Ed. Thomson, D. J.), pp. 78–92. Maidenhead: British Grassland Society.Google Scholar