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Net production of herbage from a continuously stocked Lolium perenne ‐dominated sward in late autumn
Author(s) -
GUNN R. G.,
SMITH W. F.,
AGNEW R. D. M.,
SMITH A. D. M.,
SIM D. A.
Publication year - 1991
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.1365-2494.1991.tb02404.x
Subject(s) - tiller (botany) , lolium perenne , stocking , agronomy , biology , stocking rate , population , zoology , poaceae , demography , sociology
Preliminary studies were carried out on the effect of stocking rate during late autumn on a continuously stocked Lolium perenne ‐dominated sward at an upland site in central Scotland. Measurements were made of L. perenne tiller population density on 29 September and 2 November and of L. perenne net production, mean sward height and total herbage mass in early and late October and early and late November. Stocking rates were 12 ewes per ha during October and 8 and 16 ewes per ha during November. Sward height and herbage mass declined with time and more rapidly at the higher stocking rate. L. perenne growth per tiller and per unit area was influenced by time but not by stocking rate and was closely related to the 5·5°C soil temperature at 10 cm depth. Tiller senescence was greatly reduced at the higher stocking rate and/or the consequentially lower sward height and herbage mass. Tiller net production was therefore sustained at a positive level on the higher stocked sward throughout November while on the lower stocked sward it fell below zero early in November.