Fall cutting management affects yield and persistence of alfalfa in Atlantic Canada

Bélanger, Gilles; Kunelius, T.; McKenzie, D. B.; Papadopoulos, Y. A.; Thomas, Barb R.; McRae, K. B.; Fillmore, Sherry; Christie, B. R.

doi:10.4141/p98-035

Cited by 36 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…It was suggested that the regrowth interval between the fall harvest and the preceding one is a better determinant of winter survival and spring regrowth than calendar dates (Sheaffer et al 1986;Bélanger et al 1992). Although the impact of a fall harvest on seasonal DM yield is advantageous as long as an interval of 500 or 600 growing degree-days (GDD, 5°C basis) is kept between the last summer harvest and the fall harvest, the yield benefits from a fall harvest can be relatively short-term, particularly if plants are subsequently exposed to harsh winter conditions (Bélanger et al 1999;Dhont et al 2004). In studies conducted in eastern Canada, major winter damage to alfalfa occurred at three out of six sites in either the second or third production year when a fall harvest had been taken (Bélanger et al 1999;Dhont et al 2004).…”

Section: Cutting Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the impact of a fall harvest on seasonal DM yield is advantageous as long as an interval of 500 or 600 growing degree-days (GDD, 5°C basis) is kept between the last summer harvest and the fall harvest, the yield benefits from a fall harvest can be relatively short-term, particularly if plants are subsequently exposed to harsh winter conditions (Bélanger et al 1999;Dhont et al 2004). In studies conducted in eastern Canada, major winter damage to alfalfa occurred at three out of six sites in either the second or third production year when a fall harvest had been taken (Bélanger et al 1999;Dhont et al 2004). Even in winters with no major plant mortality, the spring regrowth may be reduced if a fall harvest was taken the previous fall.…”

Section: Cutting Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The authors concluded that, in eastern Canada, harvesting alfalfa in September and October increases the risk of winter damage and decreases the regrowth during the following spring. Bélanger et al (1999) proposed that the fall cutting management of alfalfa should be based on the following scale from low to high risk: 1, No fall harvest; 2, A fall harvest taken 600 GDD after the last summer harvest; 3, A fall harvest taken 500 GDD after the last summer harvest; 4, A fall harvest taken 400 GDD after the last summer harvest. More recent research conducted in Québec confirmed the appropriateness of this risk scale based on the regrowth interval between the last two harvests (Dhont et al 2004).…”

Section: Cutting Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Winter damage to perennial forage crops in eastern Canada: Causes, mitigation, and prediction

Bélanger¹,

Castonguay²,

Bertrand³

et al. 2006

Can. J. Plant Sci.

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R. 2006. Winter damage to perennial forage crops in eastern Canada: Causes, mitigation, and prediction. Can. J. Plant Sci. 86: 33-47. Harsh winter climate results in frequent losses of stands and yield reduction in many forage-growing areas of Canada and other parts of the world. Climatic conditions and crop management both affect the winter survival of perennial forage crops. In this review, we present the main causes of winter damage in eastern Canada and we discuss crop management practices that help mitigate the risks of losses. Predictive tools available to assess the risks of winter damage both spatially and temporally are also presented. Our understanding of the causes of winter damage and of the plant adaptation mechanisms to winter stresses, particularly the role of N and C organic reserves, has improved. Forage species commonly grown in eastern Canada differ in their tolerance to subfreezing temperatures and to anoxia caused by the presence of ice on fields. Some improvement in winter hardiness of forage legume species has been achieved through breeding in eastern Canada but new technologies based on laboratory freezing tests and the identification of molecular markers may facilitate the future development of winter-hardy cultivars. Crop management practices required for good winter survival are now better defined, particularly those involving cutting management and the interval between harvests. Simulation models and climatic indices derived from our current knowledge of the causes of winter damage provide general indications on the risk of winter damage but their degree of precision and accuracy is still not satisfactory. Further improvements in winter survival require a more thorough understanding of the different causes of winter damage and, primarily, of their complex interactions with genetic, climatic, and management factors.

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Section: Cutting Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cutting Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cutting Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Winter damage to perennial forage crops in eastern Canada: Causes, mitigation, and prediction

Bélanger¹,

Castonguay²,

Bertrand³

et al. 2006

Can. J. Plant Sci.

Self Cite

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“…Irrespective of the farming system, lucerne requires a recovery period after defoliation to allow taproot reserves to be replenished [11][12][13][14][15], and rotational management of lucerne is typically recommended [11][12][13]. Nevertheless, the reality of stocking lucerne on mixed farms is that the grazing events are primarily opportunistic because hay production and livestock production targets often over-ride recommended stocking practices [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitivity of Winter-Active Lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) to Different Grazing Regimes

Burnett

Hirth²,

Butler

et al. 2018

Agronomy

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Lucerne (alfalfa; Medicago sativa L.) is the key forage for grazing in dryland temperate regions around the world. While rotational grazing of lucerne is recommended, in southern Australia the intervals between grazing events are often chosen in an opportunistic manner, to meet livestock production targets and utilise excessive spring and summer growth. To assess whether the persistence of lucerne is sensitive to variations in rotational grazing management practice, we report on an experiment with four sheep grazing treatments that was conducted for 2.5 years, including three summers, in southern New South Wales. The grazing management treatments were a crash-grazing control, frequent grazing, feed-based rotational grazing and time-based rotational grazing, replicated four times. The number of grazing events, percentage of time under grazing, lucerne top dry matter (DM) at the beginning and end of grazing periods and plant density were measured. The results relating to number of grazing events, percentage of time grazing and DM removed during grazing indicated that four grazing practices had been achieved. The treatments all had significant periods of rest for at least 73% of time and were empirically different in their approach but resulted in similar grazing pressures, in terms of overall pasture removed during grazing. Nevertheless, there was little difference in lucerne densities between grazing treatments over the life of the experiment. We conclude that there is flexibility in the rotational management of grazed lucerne provided adequate rest periods are part of the management program.

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“…However, moisture reserves were adequate for seed germination, emergence, and establishment (data not shown); the range of alfalfa population was 34 to 46 plants m -2 , which is considered a good population for productive alfalfa stands (Bélanger et al 1999;Smith et al 1989). …”

Section: Mots Clés: Hauteur De Paissance Paissance Des Bovinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the performance of alfalfa cultivars in rotationally grazed pastures

Papadopoulos¹,

McKenzie²,

McRae³

et al. 2005

Can. J. Plant Sci.

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2005. Evaluating the performance of alfalfa cultivars in rotationally grazed pastures. Can. J. Plant Sci. 85: 147-150. Although alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is an important and reliable hay crop in eastern Canada, it is generally not considered suitable for pastures. However, local studies have shown that alfalfa is capable of superior yield in mixtures under rotational grazing. This study evaluates the performance of commercially available, locally adapted, hay-type alfalfa cultivars and new experimental, grazing-type alfalfa synthetics under hay and two rotationally grazed regimes. Ten alfalfa cultivars, including five hay-type and five grazing-type cultivars, were seeded with the timothy (Phleum pratense L.) cultivar, Richmond, in mixtures. The two pasture regimes consisted of grazing to low and high residual heights. Over two dry growing seasons, the pasture management with high residual grazing height was more productive than the low; on average lenient rotational grazing pressure (high residual heights) produced 20% higher yield than low residual heights. Alfalfa cultivars selected specifically for continuous grazing were not, on average, superior to those hay-type cultivars selected for general adaptability to soil and environmental conditions in Atlantic Canada. Differences among cultivars within alfalfa type were significant. Over 2 production years, mixtures containing the hay-type cultivar, Apica, and the grazing type, Alfagraze, produced more dry matter on average than three others in the study, regardless of management regime. ) est rarement envisagée pour la paissance. Des études locales montrent cependant qu'elle peut donner un meilleur rendement dans les mélanges fourragers des pâturages tournants. La présente étude évalue la performance des cultivars de luzerne fourragère acclimatés à la région et disponibles dans le commerce ainsi que celle de lignées de paissance synthétiques expérimentales pour la production de foin et deux régimes de paissance en pâturages tournants. Les auteurs ont semé dix cultivars de luzerne, soit cinq de type fourrager et cinq pour la paissance, avec de la fléole (Phleum pratense L.) Rìchmond. Les deux régimes de paissance consistaient en une hauteur différente de pâture (faible. élevée). Le régime à hauteur résiduelle élevée s'est avéré plus productif que celui à faible taille résiduelle lors des deux périodes de croissance arides; en moyenne, un léger taux de charge des pâturages (hauteur résiduelle élevée) donne un rendement de 20 % supérieur à celui du régime à faible hauteur résiduelle. En moyenne, les cultivars de luzerne spécifiquement sélectionnés pour la paissance continue ne sont pas meilleurs que les cultivars fourragers choisis pour leurs capacité générale d'adaptation au sol et aux conditions climatiques de la région de l'Atlantique au Canada. Les cultivars d'un type donné présentent des variations importantes. Lors des deux années d'étude, les mélanges contenant la luzerne de type fourrager Apica et la luzerne pour la paissance Alfagraze ont produit plus ...

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Fall cutting management affects yield and persistence of alfalfa in Atlantic Canada

Cited by 36 publications

References 16 publications

Winter damage to perennial forage crops in eastern Canada: Causes, mitigation, and prediction

Winter damage to perennial forage crops in eastern Canada: Causes, mitigation, and prediction

Sensitivity of Winter-Active Lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) to Different Grazing Regimes

Evaluating the performance of alfalfa cultivars in rotationally grazed pastures

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