The Effects of Improvement of Botanical Composition Technology Application on Botanical Composition and Dry Matter Productivity in Rumex acetosella Dominated Hilly Pasture

This study was conducted to find out the effects of Improvement of Botanical Composition Technology (IBCT) on the forage production and ecological characteristics in a Rumex acetosella-dominated hilly pasture in Pyeongchang, in a period from August 2013 to the end of growing season in October 2015. 2MT ha－¹ limestone was applied in August 2013 and April 2014. Liming significantly increased soil pH from 4.69 to 5.47 and then the soil pH consistently hovered at 4.91~4.98. For every grazing time, plant height was found to be higher with the application of IBCT as compared with the control. After grazing, no significant difference in plant height was found between the IBCT group and the control. Changes in the botanical composition of grassland can be affected by a lot of circumstances, but application of IBCT decreased Rumex acetosella from 12% to 2%, while also increasing the proportion of pasture. In relation to the botanical composition of grass, orchardgrass and timothy showed the highest percentages throughout the whole study period. The proportion of Kentucky bluegrass increased over time while tall fescue steadily decreased. The totals for grazing days were 58 in 2014 and 55 in 2015. Average herbage dry matter intake was 7,848 kg ha－¹ in 2014 and 6,941 kg ha－¹in 2015. Due to the application of IBCT, dry matter productivity showed a significant increase of 59% during the first grazing period in 2014 (3,437 kg ha and 5,460 kg ha in control and IBCT). In 2015, the total dry matter yield of the IBCT group was 51% greater than the control (5,742 kg ha－¹ and 8,685 kg ha－¹ in control and IBCT). Under acidic soil conditions, red sorrel can grow more strongly than grasses because it has better tolerance in dry and acidic conditions. Therefore, constant management is required in order to keep red sorrel from dominating the hilly pasture. In this study, the application of IBCT was able to effectively control weeds at all points. As a result, total management, including improvement of soil, overseeding, and application of selective herbicide and fertilizer, is needed to maintain excellent grassland conditions due to the limiting effects of environmental factors on grassland productivity.