Effects of autumn closing date and grazing severity in a rotationally grazed sward during winter and spring. 1. Dry matter production

• Published in: Irish journal of agricultural research 1988, Vol.27 (2/3), p.141-150
• Main Authors: Carton, O. T., Brereton, A. J., O'Keeffe, W. F., Keane, G. P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: animal production; Autumn; contenido de materia seca; Crop science; desempeno; dry matter content; exploitation des herbages; gramineas; graminee; Grasses; grassland management; Grazing; Grazing management; hiver; invierno; ireland; irlanda; irlande; manejo de praderas; modele; modelos; pastoreo rotacional; paturage en rotation; Plant growth; primavera; printemps; produccion animal; production animale; Rotational grazing; spring; Sward; teneur en matiere seche; Tillering; Winter
• ISSN: 0578-7483

The effects of autumn closing date and grazing severity prior to closing on dry matter yield and its components through the winter up to early summer are described. For each one month delay in closing date, from mid-August to mid-November, there was a significant reduction in total and leaf DM yields in early spring. Later, in early May, differences between leaf DM yields for closing date treatments had disappeared. Differences between total DM yields remained and were due mainly to the higher dead DM content of the earlier closed treatments. Severe, as opposed to lenient, grazing in autumn generally reduced dry matter yields of leaf, stem and dead matter, but not always to a significant extent. Accurate prediction of spring DM requires information about the differing amounts of dry matter accumulated after the last autumn grazing to be taken into account as well as accumulated temperatures. The management implications for animal performance in autumn and the availability of herbage in spring are discussed.