The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between level of sward height reduction (SHR) and short-term intake of herbage by lactating dairy cows offered swards differing in initial bulk density (BD). Three experiments were carried out in which cows were presented with swards representing different levels of SHR (nominally described as ungrazed, low, moderate and high). Experiments 1 and 2 differed with respect to initial sward BD [ungrazed sward 1á7 vs. 2á5 kg dry matter (DM) m A3 respectively]. Experiment 3 investigated the interaction between BD and SHR.In each experiment, sixteen Holstein/Friesian cows (®tted with excreta collection bags) grazed for a 1-h period in 200-m 2 plots that had been grazed on the previous day to predetermined sward surface heights (SSH) ( levels of SHR). Herbage intake rates were assessed from changes in live weight, with a correction for insensible weight loss (IWL). Biting rates were recorded from visual observation. High levels of SHR were associated with a signi®cant reduction in SSH, herbage mass and leaf fraction, and a signi®cant increase in sward BD, stem and dead fraction, and DM concentration.Herbage intake, expressed either as DM intake per bite or DM intake per hour, declined as level of SHR increased from low to high. The level of SHR generally had no effect on biting rate. Intake rates varied from 1á9 to 4á4 kg DM h A1 , whereas DM intake bite A1 ranged from 0á5 to 1á3 g. Pooled regression analysis identi®ed SSH (P < 0á001; r 2 0á94) as the principal determinant of DM intake bite A1 . The regression equation was not signi®cantly improved by the addition of terms for leaf fraction, BD, or herbage mass. In Experiment 3, a signi®cant interaction between level of SHR and sward BD was observed. It is concluded that the principal factor controlling intake (g DM bite A1 or kg DM h A1 ), as swards are progressively grazed down, is SSH, but at a high level of SHR, sward BD also in¯uences intake bite A1 .

Three experiments were carried out on perennial ryegrass‐dominant swards to provide a basis for recommendations for the limits to (a) building up and timing of utilization of a herbage ‘bank’ for out‐of‐season grazing and (b) duration and intensity of early spring grazing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In experiment 1, the effect of regrowth interval (from 7 September, 20 October, 17 November or 15 December) in autumn on herbage accumulation, leaf turnover and on subsequent spring growth was investigated. Swards regrown from early September reached maximum herbage mass (about 3 t ha–1 DM) and leaf lamina content in mid‐November, by which time senescence rate exceeded rate of production of new leaves. New leaf production and senescence rates were greater in swards remaining uncut until December than in those cut in October or November. Time of defoliation up to December had no effect on spring herbage mass in the subsequent spring. Defoliating in March reduced herbage mass in late May by less than 20%. Experiment 2 investigated the progress in herbage growth and senescence in swards regrowing from different times in late summer and autumn to produce herbage for utilization beyond the normal grazing season. Treatments in a randomized block design with three replicates were regrowths from 19 July, 8 August, 30 August and 20 September. Based on a lower ceiling of leaf and total herbage mass being reached with progressively later regrowths, beyond which leaf senescence generally exceeded leaf production and herbage mass declined, it was concluded that currently recommended rotation lengths for this period should extend from 3 weeks in late July to 8 weeks for swards previously grazed in mid‐September. In both experiments, leaf senescence commenced earlier (by one leaf‐age category) than previously published estimates and so brought forward the time at which senescence rates balanced leaf growth rates. In experiment 3, designed to evaluate the effect of daily grazing period and intensity in early spring on herbage regrowth, dairy cows grazed successive plots (replicates) for 2 or 4 h each day at two intensities (target residual heights of 5 or 7 cm) in March to mid‐April. Regrowth rate was similar in all treatments including the ungrazed control, despite soil moisture content being relatively high on occasions. Tiller density was significantly reduced in May by grazing plots in early or mid‐April. It is concluded that in autumn there are limits to which rotation lengths should be extended to produce herbage for out‐of‐season grazing owing to attainment of ceiling yields. Although utilization in early spring may reduce herbage availability in spring, out‐of‐season utilization need not reduce herbage growth rates in early spring.

The effects of simultaneously varying P, K, lime and Mo supplies on the growth and shoot morphology of white clover (Trifolium repens) at establishment were investigated in a factorially designed glasshouse experiment. Phosphorus and lime applications had almost identical, additive, effects on dry‐matter (DM) production, and it was clear that the benefit of both treatments lay in the resultant improvements in plant available P. The adverse effects of P deficiency on young plants resulted, immediately, in a large decrease in stolon branch numbers, but only when the deficiency became acute did similar declines in the dimensions of leaves and petioles occur. It was suggested that this preferential maintenance of leaf and petiole expansion processes under moderate P deficiency, by enabling white clover to retain favourable upper canopy positions, could be an ecological adaptation to maximize its chances of survival in mixed grass–clover swards. Unlike P, K had little effect on clover growth or shoot morphology. However, there was some evidence that plants suffering from acute K deficiency preferentially partitioned resources to organs associated with exploratory growth, i.e. to stolons, at the expense of the plant's photosynthetic capability. Molybdenum application had no effect on DM production or shoot morphology, but did improve the N status of shoots, presumably by enhancing N2 fixation. It was concluded that the survival of white clover in swards at establishment is critically dependent on P supply, and that one of the main benefits of liming is the resultant improvement in P availability.

The response of swards which have been previously grazed to N fertilizer applied in early February was studied in two experiments in Northern Ireland. The effect of N fertilizer applied at a range of dates in autumn and spring on swards for out‐of‐season utilization was studied in a further experiment. Deep soil coring was also undertaken, subsequent to grazing with dairy cows, in grazed and protected areas in November and March to investigate the effect of out‐of‐season grazing on soil mineral N levels. Dry‐matter (DM) yield response to early spring N application in previously grazed swards was low, with no effect on DM yield in February or March. Progressively delaying N application (and commencement of herbage accumulation) in autumn from 8 September until 18 October reduced herbage availability in late autumn and early spring but increased leaf lamina content. The greater the amount of herbage accumulated to 1 December, the lower the tiller density in the following April. N fertilizer had a greater impact on soil mineral N in spring than in late autumn/early winter, suggesting that fertilizer N was more prone to loss in the latter. Soil mineral N was not significantly affected by out‐of‐season grazing. It is concluded that in well‐fertilized, previously grazed swards response to N for out‐of‐season herbage is low and the probability for N loss is increased. Herbage quality will decline and the sward may be damaged if about 2 t DM ha−1 or more of harvestable herbage accumulates for use in winter or in early spring.

Twelve plots were laid down on an existing perennial ryegrass/white clover sward, one plot in each of six replicated blocks receiving 100 kg  N ha−1 (100N) and one plot receiving no N (0N). Biomass, canopy development (stratified cuts and point quadrat records at 2–4‐week intervals) and changes in stolon population density were recorded during one 8‐week regrowth period (25 July–23 September) to investigate the likely causes of N effects on white clover in mixed swards. Over the period, N fertilizer resulted in an increase of 74% in perennial ryegrass biomass and a reduction of 24% in white clover biomass. There was also a reduction of 44% in stolon growing point density, mainly due to lower density of younger stolon branches. White clover's contribution to the upper three leaf area index (LAI) units (taken as an estimate of the proportion of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) intercepted) was, on average, 70% at 0N producing 74% of the sward biomass, compared with 46% contribution to interception and 37% contribution to biomass at 100N. While there was no evidence of overtopping, it is concluded that N fertilizer application increased the LAI of perennial ryegrass in the upper layers of the canopy thereby reducing the share of available PAR to white clover. This, coupled with a lower radiation use efficiency at high N and lower population density, results in white clover's reduced performance in mixed swards receiving N fertilizer.