The protein content of grass, chiefly meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis), as influenced by frequency of cutting

Extract

From a study of the data of two season's work the following observations may be made:

Frequency of grazing with a view to the successful operation of the scheme will depend on a number of factors, chief among which is the character of the herbage and its growth. Recovery and vigour of growth are primarily dependent on rainfall and secondarily on the fertility of the soil, which may be increased by fertiliser applications. Rainfall, its amount and distribution, has in this investigation shown itself the most potent of all influences in the recovery of the plots. The results in general of 1928 indicate that the application of fertilisers, in which nitrogen predominates, greatly assisted in the maintenance of vigorous growth.

The protein content of the herbage increases with the shortening of the period between cuttings, due in the first season solely to the fact that the protein content of the grass falls off with age, but in the second and subsequent seasons, in a very large measure, to the incursion of white Dutch clover.

A consideration of protein yields per acre in relation to frequency of cutting reveals that in the first season, when the herbage is essentially grass, the shortening of the period between cuttings tends to reduce the protein yield; in the second season, when clover replaces grass, roughly in proportion to the shortening of the growing period, the higher protein content of the legume tends to counteract the depressing effect on yield of frequent cutting.