A COMPARISON OF THE GROWTH OF A CUT SWARD WITH THAT OF GRAZED SWARDS, USING A TECHNIQUE TO ELIMINATE FOULING AND TREADING

1365-2494

Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005

Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition

A technique is described whereby sward defoliation by sheep can occur in the absence of treading and the deposition of excreta. By using this technique, swards were grazed to a moderate severitj, leaving behind an amount of herbage similar to that left after cutting; the DM yields from both methods are compared. The technique was also used to study other swards which were grazed either very leniently or very severely. Within the limits tested, efficient rotational grazing (i.e. the removal of a large proportion of the herbage on each occasion) did not give the greatest DM yields, except at the first harvest. Cutting- and grazing-treatments produced differences in sward structure.

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