Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T17:52:01.275Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effect of herbage allowance on herbage intake and performance of lambs grazing perennial ryegrass and red clover swards

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

M. J. Gibb  and
T. T. Treacher
M. J. Gibb
Affiliation:
Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks.
T. T. Treacher
Affiliation:
Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The effect of daily herbage allowance on herbage intakes and growth rates lambs grazing perennial ryegrass and red clover was investigated in two experiments. Herbage allowances defined as g herbage D.M./kg live weight (LW)/day were controlled by varying the areas of plots grazed for 2 days by groups of six lambs.

In the first experiment five herbage allowances in the range 20–120 g D.M./kg LW/day were offered on two areas of a perennial ryegrass (cv. S. 23) sward that received nitrogen fertilizer applications of 39 or 78 kg N/ha/28 days. In the second experiment five herbage allowances in the range 30–160 g D.M./kg LW/day were offered on perennial ryegrass (cv. S. 23) and red clover (cv. Hungaropoly) swards.

Asymptotic curves were fitted to describe the relationship between herbage allowance and daily intake of herbage. In Expt 1 nitrogen fertilizer rates did not affect the yield of herbage or animal performance. In Expt 2 intakes were higher on the clover sward than on the ryegrass sward at the higher herbage allowances.

The asymptotic curves to describe the relationship between herbage allowance and growth rate of lambs differed widely between periods. Growth rate of the lambs increased linearly with increase in digestible organic matter intake. Live-weight gain per unit of digestible organic matter intake was higher on the red clover than on the ryegrass.

The conclusion is drawn that if the herbage present to ground level is not more than three times the daily intake of the animals, intake of herbage of the animals may bo restricted.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 86 , Issue 2 , April 1976 , pp. 355 - 365
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1976

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arnold, G. W. & Dudzinski, M. L. (1967a). Studies on the diet of the grazing animal. II. The effect of physiological status in ewes and pasture availability on herbage intake. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 18, 349–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arnold, G. W. & Dudzinski, M. L. (1967b). Studies on the diet of the grazing animal. III. The effect of pasture species and pasture structure on the herbage intake of sheep. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 18, 657–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, A. G., Phillips, D. S. M. & O'Reilly, E. D. (1962). An electronic instrument for pasture yield determination. Journal of the British Grassland Society 17, 89–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenhalgh, J. F. D., Reid, G. W., Aitken, J. N. & Florence, E. (1966). The effect of grazing intensity on herbage consumption and animal production. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 67, 13–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodgson, J. (1975). The consumption of perennial ryegrass (var. S. 24) and red clover (var. Hungaropoly) by grazing sheep. Journal of the British Grassland Society (In the Press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodgson, J. & Rodriguez, J. M. (1971). The measurement of herbage intake in grazing studies. Annual Report of the Grassland Research Institute 1970, pp. 132–40.Google Scholar
Hull, J. L., Meyer, J. H. & Kromann, R. (1961). Influence of stocking rate on animal and forage production from irrigated pasture. Journal of Animal Science 20, 46–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jamieson, W. S. (1975). The influence of grazing behaviour upon the herbage intake by cattle and sheep of perennial ryegrass. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Reading.Google Scholar
Langlands, J. R. (1972). Growth and herbage consumption of grazing Merino and Border Leicester lambs reared by their mothers or fostered by ewes of the other breed. Animal Production 14, 317—22.Google Scholar
Langlands, J. P. (1973). Milk and herbage intakes by grazing lambs born to Merino ewes and sired by Merino, Border Leicester, Corriedale, Dorset Horn and Southdown rams. Animal Production 16, 285–91.Google Scholar
Langlands, J. P. & Bennett, I. L. (1973). Stocking intensity and pastoral production. II. Herbage intake of Merino sheep grazed at different stocking rates. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 81, 205–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lloyd, Davies H. & Greenwood, E. A. M. (1972). Live weight and wool growth of sheep in response to the quantity and botanical composition of annual pasture induced by nitrogen fertiliser and stocking treatments. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 23, 1101–11.Google Scholar
Osbourn, D. F. (1970). The voluntary intake of forage crops by sheep. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Reading.Google Scholar
Newton, J. E. & Young, N. E. (1974). The performance and intake of weaned lambs grazing S 24 perennial ryegrass, with and without supplementation. Animal Production 18, 191–9.Google Scholar
Smith, R. C. G., Biddiscombe, E. F. & Stern, W. R. (1972). Evaluation of five Mediterranean annual pasture species during early growth. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 23, 703–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spedding, C. R. W., Large, R. V., Brown, T. H. & Wilson, I. A. N. (1965). The use of ‘worm-free’ sheep in grazing experiments. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 64, 283–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tilley, J. M. A. & Terry, R. A. (1963). A two stage technique for the in-vitro digestion of forage crops. Journal of the British Grassland Society 18, 104–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treacher, T. T. & Penning, P. D. (1971). The development of an automatic system for rearing lambs artificially. Outlook on Agriculture 6, 227–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ulyatt, M. J. (1971). Studies on the causes of the difference in pasture quality between perennial ryegrass, short-rotation ryegrass and white clover. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 14, 352–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waite, R., Holmes, W. & Boyd, J. (1952). Studies in grazing management. V. Further determination of the nutrient intake of dairy cows under close-folding and rotational methods of grazing. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 42, 314–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar