Relationship of bite mass of cattle to sward structure of four temperate grasses in short‐term grazing sessions

Soder, K.J.; Sanderson, Matt A.; Gregorini, Pablo; Orr, R. J.; Rubano, M.D.; Rook, A. J.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2494.2009.00710.x

Cited by 16 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…S ward structure of temperate grasses has been shown to have a significant impact on many of the factors related to herbage intake by cattle, including bite mass (Casey et al, 2004, Soder et al, 2009), intake rate (Barrett et al, 2003), bite rate and volume (Gong et al, 1996), and energy expended during grazing (Illius et al, 1995; Griffiths and Gordon, 2003). The structure of the sward may vary due to species differences (Illius et al, 1995; Brink et al, 2007), the addition of legumes and forbs (Sanderson et al, 2006), or selection efforts to improve the yield and quality characteristics of a particular species (Gilliland et al, 2002; Barre et al, 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between Herbage Intake and Sward Structure of Grazed Temperate Grasses

Brink

Soder

2011

Crop Science

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Temperate grasses differ in sward structure, which may influence herbage intake of grazing cattle. We compared herbage intake of meadow fescue [Schedonorus pratensis (Huds.) P. Beauv.], orchardgrass {Dactylis glomerata L.), quackgrass [Elymus repens (L.) Gould], and reed canarygrass {Phalaris arundinacea L.) grazed by dairy heifers, and determined its relationship with sward structure. Grasses were grazed at vegetative stage for 24 h over 5-d periods in the spring, summer, and fall of 2 yr. Forage dry matter (DM) allowance was a minimum of two times expected daily intake (11 kg animah^ d ^). Sward characteristics were measured before grazing (height, mass, vertical distribution of leaf and stem bulk density and nutritive value). Herbage DM intake was estimated daily (pregraze minus postgraze herbage mass). Despite species differences in pregraze sward height (range of 29-49 cm across seasons), herbage mass (range of 1480-2540 kg DM ha '), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility (range of 713-843 g kg"' NDF), no differences in leaf bulk density and herbage intake were found among grasses during four of six grazing seasons. Herbage intake differences during two seasons were related to either sward leaf bulk density (r = 0.79) or stem bulk density (r = -0.84), and the associated changes in leaf and stem mass of the canopy layers grazed by cattle, indicating that these sward characteristics were the primary determinants of grazed herbage intake in vegetative meadow fescue, orchardgrass, quackgrass, and reed canarygrass.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between Herbage Intake and Sward Structure of Grazed Temperate Grasses

Brink

Soder

2011

Crop Science

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“…; Soder et al . ). Considering that the pre‐grazing sward surface height was kept constant over time and that stem + pseudostem height increased as the growing season progressed, the depth of the top leafy stratum of the sward canopy became shallower over time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Throughout the growing season, there was an increase in stem + pseudostem and a decrease in leaf percentage in sward herbage mass, the last being the preferred plant fraction by grazing animals (Griffiths et al 2003;Orr et al 2004;Soder et al 2009). Considering that the pre-grazing sward surface height was kept constant over time and that stem + pseudostem height increased as the growing season progressed, the depth of the top leafy stratum of the sward canopy became shallower over time.…”

Section: Variations In Sward Characteristics and Stir Throughout The mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…) by changing the time required to take a bite (de Vries and Daleboudt ; Soder et al . ) or by altering the bite mass (BM) (Amaral et al . ; Mezzalira et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The short-term intake rate (STIR) of grazing animals is an important variable that influences daily herbage intake, because the balance between the energy intake rate and the energy required to harvest the forage can limit the grazing time (Gibb et al 1999;Amaral et al 2012). Over short periods, some differences in the structural composition of pastures affect the intake rate (Benvenutti et al 2006;Drescher et al 2006) by changing the time required to take a bite (de Vries and Daleboudt 1994;Soder et al 2009) or by altering the bite mass (BM) (Amaral et al 2012;Mezzalira et al 2014). For instance, Fonseca et al (2012) showed that to maximize the STIR, swards should be grazed to a range of optimal pre-grazing heights, and they should not be grazed to greater than 40% of the pre-grazing canopy height.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changes in the short‐term intake rate of herbage by heifers grazing annual grasses throughout the growing season

et al. 2017

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Annual temperate grasses go through abrupt changes in morphological composition during the growing season, which can affect ingestive behavior of grazing cattle. However, few studies have examined the effects of gradual structural changes in annual temperate pastures on the herbage intake rate during the growing season. We hypothesized that lenient grazing (removal of 40% of the initial pre‐grazing height) maintains short‐term intake rate (STIR) of grazing cattle over the entire growing season, even with decreased leaf/stem ratios. The studied pastures contained Avena strigosa, Lolium multiflorum and a mixture of the two species. Short‐term intake rate was measured using the double weighing technique, evaluating both bite rate and bite mass. The percentage of stem + pseudostem and leaf lamina lengths in the herbage mass were measured. Relationships between sward structure and animal ingestive behavior were also examined. As the pasture growing season progressed, the STIR of heifers grazing annual temperate grass swards was affected more by the time required to take a bite than by bite mass. Moreover, the sward structure also changed after each grazing cycle, reducing the pre‐grazing leaf/stem ratio. However, reductions in the pre‐grazing leaf lamina mass (up to 37% of the sward herbage mass) and/or in the leaf lamina length (up to 52% of the extended tiller height) did not affect the STIR of grazing heifers, since the animals maintained their bite mass and time per bite. In summary, with a grazing down target of 40% of the pre‐grazing height, reductions in STIR of heifers grazing annual temperate grasses occurred when the pre‐grazing leaf lamina percentage was <37% of the sward herbage mass and/or <52% of the extended tiller height. These results suggested that to avoid STIR reductions during the last grazing cycles, managements to stimulate tillering and delay stem + pseudostem elongation are necessary and should be investigated.

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Effects of herbage mass and herbage allowance on bite mass of grazing dairy cows

Alvarez-Hess

Douglas

Wright

et al. 2021

Animal Feed Science and Technology

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Relationship of bite mass of cattle to sward structure of four temperate grasses in short‐term grazing sessions

Cited by 16 publications

References 32 publications

Relationship between Herbage Intake and Sward Structure of Grazed Temperate Grasses

Relationship between Herbage Intake and Sward Structure of Grazed Temperate Grasses

Changes in the short‐term intake rate of herbage by heifers grazing annual grasses throughout the growing season

Effects of herbage mass and herbage allowance on bite mass of grazing dairy cows

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