Performance of Four Irrigated Pasture Mixtures Under Grazing by Sheep

Abstract

Four herbage mixtures with two levels of fertilizer application were compared for 6 consecutive years under grazing by sheep. The most satisfactory mixture with respect to yield, persistence, and stability was one of orchardgrass, Dactylis glomerata L., smooth bromegrass, Bromus inermis Leys., creeping red fescue, Festuca rubra L., and ladino clover, Trifolium repens L. The same mixture of grasses without clover was lower yielding even with annual applications of 78 pounds of nitrogen and 48 pounds of P2O5 per acre. A mixture of orchardgrass, tall fescue, Festuca arundinacea Schreb., reed canary grass, Phalaris arundinacea L., and alfalfa, Medicago sativa L. yielded well, and combated weed encroachment but the alfalfa did not persist beyond the third year. Tall fescue was very aggressive in this mixture. A mixture of orchardgrass and ladino clover yielded well for a few years but became badly infested with weeds as the orchardgrass was reduced through winter killing. Moderate yield increases were obtained from phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizer applications on all mixtures.

Production and Nutritive Value of Grazed Simple and Complex Forage Mixtures

“…The botanical composition of complex mixtures changes with time and is influenced mainly by the environment and grazing management (Belesky et al, 2002b(Belesky et al, , 2002a. Botanical shifts may influence forage nutritive value and make complex mixtures more difficult to manage (Crosthwaite et al, 1996;Sleugh et al, 2000;Wilson and Clark, 1960;Belesky et al, 1999). In simple grass-legume mixtures it was found that the grass-to-legume proportion strongly influenced crude protein (CP) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (Sheaffer et al, 1990;Zemenchik et al, 2002).…”

Some Effects of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium Fertilization on Botanical Composition of a Tall Fescue‐White Clover Sward1

“…Tall fescue is considered to be somewhat low in palatability (1,8,16), and the use of legumes with the grass has been shown to result in improved animal performance (3,18,23). But tall fescue is a vigorous; aggressive plant in mos.t of the area where it is widely grown and maintenance of legumes in association may be difficult ( 6,7,25).…”