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SWARD PRODUCTIVITY WITHIN MICRO‐PATTERNS OF HEIGHT AND FREQUENCY OF DEFOLIATION
Author(s) -
Smith A.,
Macauley J. R.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
grass and forage science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1365-2494
pISSN - 0142-5242
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2494.1975.tb01390.x
Subject(s) - perennial plant , yield (engineering) , productivity , mathematics , agronomy , zoology , biology , materials science , composite material , economics , macroeconomics
An experiment is described in which 10 cutting treatments were applied to plots of perennial ryegrass. In 4 treatments the swards were cut uniformly using one of the following regimes: cut to 15 cm every 2 weeks (regime hf); cut to 15 cm every 6 weeks (hi); cut to 5 cm every 2 weeks (If); cut to 5 cm every 6 weeks (li). In the remaining 6 treatments, each plot was cut in alternate 9 cm strips using combinations of two of the above regimes; hf/hi, hf/lf, hf/li, hi/If, hi/li, and If/li. The non‐uniform cutting in the latter 6 treatments resulted in a micro‐pattern of height and/or frequency of defoliation. DM yield from the best non‐uniform cutting method (If/li) was as great as that from the best uniform method (li). This was due to an increased yield from areas under regime If when adjacent to areas under li, compared with uniform defoliation under regime If. Results for other treatments also showed that the yield from an area can be influenced by the defoliation regime applied to adjacent areas. The trend was for yield to be greatest if adjacent areas were cut high (as opposed to low) or frequently (as opposed to infrequently). There was less bare ground and more perennial ryegrass and weeds at the end of the experiment in areas previously adjacent to frequent (0 as opposed to infrequent (i) cutting regimes. To assist in the interpretation of field results, an experiment was carried out in which uniform and non‐uniform cutting treatments were applied to individual plants of perennial ryegrass growing in pots of soil in a glasshouse. There was some evidence of an interaction between the growth of high and low parts of plants cut non‐uniformly. There is a discussion of the possibility of devising new ways of harvesting grass by cutting. It is suggested that the non‐uniform grazing pattern of livestock may not be wasteful.