Declining nutrient content of native and seeded pasture plants with advancing growing stages are discussed. All plant types display this regression in nutritive value but to different degrees, different rates, and varying patterns. The situation is further aggravated by the concomitant increase in lignin and other fibrous properties which precludes maximum digestibility of an already declining nutrient level in the plant. Countless observations by generations of people through research measurements, performance trials, and producer experience have contributed to the almost irrefutable recognition and acceptance of the fact that the nutrient composition of early plant growth exceeds that of the same plants with advancing maturity. We need to be reminded of this on occasion as we streak along in a world of accelerating automation and technological change. In the face of this turmoil we should review and reflect on some of the basic knowledge that we have come to take for granted. Influencing Factors A multiplicity of factors affects the rate of change in nutrient composition with advancing plant development and maturity stages. These factors may include any one or a combination of the following: plant type, climate, season, weather, soil type and fertility, soil moisture, leaf stem ratio, physiological and morphological characteristics and others, and may vary with annuals vs. perennials, grasses vs. legumes, etc. By themselves, nutrient composition levels are not necessarily the only criterion in evaluating the nutritive value of plants (Cook
The effect of wheat, oats, barley, and spring rye as companion crops on the establishment of a perennial forage crop mixture consisting of crested wheatgrass, brome, and alfalfa under arid conditions compared to no companion crop was studied at Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Cereal companion crops reduced the vigour, stand, and subsequent early forage yields of the grass-alfalfa mixtures, but less so if the cereal crop and the forage crop were seeded separately at right-angles to one another. The method of harvesting the cereal companion crop also influenced the performance of the subsequent forage crop. Cutting the cereal crops at a height of 8 inches or more for grain resulted in better grass-alfalfa stands and yields than was obtained when the cereal crops were mowed at a 2-inch height for hay. The effect of kind of cereal grain on performance of the perennial forage differed little. Wider row spacings for the cross-seeded companion crops also resulted in a better stand and yield of the grass-alfalfa crop.
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