Sward species diversity impacts on pasture productivity and botanical composition under grazing
2024
Jezequel, A. | Delaby, Luc | Finn, J.A. | Mckay, Z.C. | Horan, B. | Teagasc - The Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc) | University College Dublin [Dublin] (UCD) | Physiologie, Environnement et Génétique pour l'Animal et les Systèmes d'Elevage [Rennes] (PEGASE) ; Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro Rennes Angers ; Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)
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Show more [+] Less [-]English. As part of the management of intensive grazing, the focus on simple and productive forage systems has led to a limited range of plants being used in grazing swards supported by high levels of chemical fertilisers. This study investigated three different combinations of plant diversity and N fertiliser level (perennial ryegrass monoculture (PRG), 250 kg N ha–1; two-species perennial ryegrass-white clover (PRG-WC), 125 kg N ha–1; eight-species containing grasses, clovers and herbs (MSS), 125 kg N ha–1). Each sward type had its own farmlet of 20 paddocks and comprised 50 dairy cows on 20 ha which were rotationally grazed. Over two years, botanical composition of the PRG-WC was composed of 836, 163 and 1 g (kg DM)–1 of grasses, white clover and unsown species, respectively; MSS had 673, 151, 171 and 5 g (kg DM)–1 of grasses, clovers, herbs and unsown species respectively. Total net herbage production (13 022 kg ha–1 year–1 of DM forage) and nutritive values were unaffected by sward type during the 2 years. These results suggest that increasing sward diversity while reducing the use of chemical N fertiliser can maintain herbage production and nutritive value.
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