Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T21:29:56.778Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Growth, nutritive value and selection by sheep of sainfoin, red clover, lucerne and hybrid ryegrass

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

D. Wilman  and
F. H. K. Asiedu
D. Wilman
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, Univeisity College of Wales, Aberystwyth
F. H. K. Asiedu
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, Univeisity College of Wales, Aberystwyth
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

A site containing plots of sainfoin, red clover, lucerne and hybrid ryegrass, each sown as a pure stand, was grazed by sheep three times in the first and second harvest years and once in the third. Crop growth was studied during the 8 weeks preceding each grazing.

Sainfoin had a high proportion of green leaf and a high weight per unit area of leaf, and the stem as well as the leaf was readily eaten. The yield and persistence of sainfoin were poor, the number of plants and the number of shoots per plant were low, the development of leaf area was slow, and nitrogen content and digestibility were rather low.

Red clover had a high proportion of green leaf, large leaves, high nitrogen content and fairly high digestibility, and the stem as well as the leaf was readily eaten. Yield was low except at the first two grazings of the first harvest year, and persistence was poor, there being a large number of plant deaths near the time of the second grazing.

Lucerne was higher yielding and more persistent than the other legumes, with a satisfactory number of plants, a relatively large number of shoots per plant, a high rate of emergence of leaves and a relatively large amount of branching. The lucerne had a rather high proportion of stem, and the stem was of rather low digestibility and not very attractive to the sheep.

The hybrid ryegrass yielded more herbage than the legumes, had a satisfactory and increasing number of tillers, increased in yield relatively early in spring and recovered well after defoliation. The proportion of green leaf was low by the end of each of the first two growth periods of each year, the leaves emerged at a rather slow rate in the later stages of a growth period, the crop had a relatively high proportion of cell wall and the stem in particular was relatively unattractive to the sheep.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 100 , Issue 1 , February 1983 , pp. 115 - 126
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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

Altimimi, M. A. K. (1978). The digestibility of different tissues of herbage plants. Ph.D. thesis, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.Google Scholar
Asiedu, F. H. K. (1980). Growth, nutritive value and selectivity by sheep of four herbage species. Ph.D. thesis, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.Google Scholar
Brougham, R. W. (1959). The effects of frequency and intensity of grazing on the productivity of a pasture of short-rotation ryegrass and red and white clover. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 2, 1232–1248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chbnost, M., Grenet, E., Demarquilly, C. & Jarrioe, R. (1970). The use of the nylon bag technique for the study of forage digestion in the rumen and for predicting feed value. Proceedings XI International Grassland Congress, Surfers' Paradise, Australia, pp. 697–701.Google Scholar
Davies, W. E. (1974). The potential contribution of forage legumes to the nitrogen-protein-energy crisis. Report of Welsh Plant Breeding Station For 1973, pp. 103–110.Google Scholar
Demarquilly, C. & Jarrige, R. (1974). The comparative nutritive value of grasses and legumes. Proceedings of the 5th General Meeting of the European Grassland Federation, Uppsala, 1973. Main papers. Växtodling 28, 33–41.Google Scholar
Faithfull, N. T. (1971). Automated simultaneous determination of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium on the same herbage digest solution. Laboratory Practice 20, 41–44.Google Scholar
Hughes, R. (1970). Grassland agronomy. Jubilee Report, 1919–1969, of the Welsh Plant Breeding Station, pp. 48–73.Google Scholar
Leach, G. J. (1970). Growth of the lucerne pLant after defoliation. Proceedings XI International Grassland Congress, Surfers' Paradise, Australia, pp. 562–566.Google Scholar
Ministry Of Agriculture, Fisheries And Food (1975). Energy allowances and feeding systems for ruminants. Technical Bulletin. 33. London: H.M.S.O.Google Scholar
Ministry Of Agriculture, Fisheries And Food (1981). Stocks of seed in the hands of seedsmen on 31 May 1981 and disposals during the year ended 31 May 1981 (United Kingdom). Cambridge: Seeds Branch, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.Google Scholar
National Institute Of Agricultural Botany (1981–1982 a). Recommended varieties of herbage legumes. Farmer's Leaflet no. 4. Cambridge.Google Scholar
National Institute Of Agricultural Botany (1981–1982 b). Recommended varieties of grasses. Farmer's Leaflet no. 16. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Rudeforth, C. C. (1970). Soils of North Cardiganshire. Harpenden: Soil Survey of England and Wales.Google Scholar
Sheehy, J. E. & Popple, S. C. (1981). Photosynthesis, water relations, temperature and canopy structure as factors influencing the growth of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) and lucerne (Medicago sativa L.). Annals of Botany 48, 113–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheldrick, R. D. & Thomson, D. J. (1982). Management and utilization of sainfoin (Onobrychis sativa). Information Leaflet no. 13, Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Berkshire.Google Scholar
Spedding, C. R. W. & Diekmahns, E. C. (ed.) (1972). Grasses and legumes in British agriculture. Bulletin no. 49, Commonwealth Bureau of Pastures and Field Crops. Farnham Royal: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux.Google Scholar
Terry, R. A. & Tilley, J. M. A. (1964). The digestibility of the leaves and stems of perennial ryegrass, cocksfoot, timothy, tall fescue, lucerne and sainfoin, as measured by an in vitro procedure. Journal of the British Grassland Society 19, 363–372.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, 104–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Soest, P. J. (1963). Use of detergents in the analysis of fibrous feeds. II. A rapid method for the determination of fiber and lignin. Journal of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists1 46, 829–835.Google Scholar
Van Soest, P. J. & Wine, R. H. (1967). Use of detergents in the analysis of fibrous feeds. IV. Determination of plant cell-wall constituents. Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists 50, 50–55.Google Scholar
Van Soest, P. J. & Wine, R. H. (1968). Determination of lignin and cellulose in acid-detergent fiber with permanganate. Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists 51, 780–785.Google Scholar
Wilman, D. (1977). The effect of grazing compared with cutting, at different frequencies, on a lucernecocksfoot ley. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 88, 483–492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilman, D., Koocheki, A., Lwooa, A. B. & Samaan, S. F. (1977). Digestion in vitro of Italian and perennial ryegrasses, red clover, white clover and lucerne. Journal of the British Grassland Society 32, 13–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar