Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T05:19:08.086Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Leaf growth and utilization in four grass species under steady state continuous grazing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

J. R. B. Tallowin ,
S. K. E. Brookman  and
G. L. Santos
J. R. B. Tallowin
Affiliation:
Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, North Wyke Research Station, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 2SB, UK
S. K. E. Brookman
Affiliation:
Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, North Wyke Research Station, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 2SB, UK
G. L. Santos
Affiliation:
Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, North Wyke Research Station, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 2SB, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Tiller weight, lamina length, lamina growth rate, appearance interval and lamina utilization were examined in Lolium perenne, Agrostis stolonifera, Holcus lanatus and Poa trivialis. Marked tillers were measured in situ over 14–21 day periods in a continuously grazed permanent pasture under steady state management in Devon, UK, in 1985, 1986 and 1987 on plots receiving either zero (0N) or 400 kg nitrogen (400N) fertilizer/ha per annum.

L. perenne was incapable of reducing its individual tiller weight or lamina length to the same extent as in the other three species during the grazing season. Lamina appearance interval was longer in L. perenne than in the other three species in most of the observation periods in both the 400N and 0N plots. Overall the lamina appearance intervals were similar between A. stolonifera, H. lanatus and P. trivialis. Lamina extension rates were greater in L. perenne than in either A. stolonifera or P. trivialis in most observation periods in both plots. H. lanatus had lower lamina extension rates than L. perenne in c. 50% of the observation periods in both plots, at other times the extension rates of the two species were similar, with one exception in early spring in the 400N plot when H. lanatus had a higher extension rate. There was no clear pattern in seasonality as to when H. lanatus had a lower extension rate than L. perenne. H. lanatusachieved either similar or higher lamina extension rates than either A. stoloniferaor P. trivialis in c. 50% of the observation periods, respectively; the periods when higher rates were observed in H. lanatus in the 400N plot occurred mainly in the spring and early summer. A. stolonifera and P. trivialis achieved similar lamina extension rates in most observation periods in both the ON and 400N plots. The specific differences observed in the lamina extension rates were emphasised when converted to growth rates by multiplying the length increments by the average weight per unit length of the expanded lamina for each species.

Lamina utilization, in terms of percentage of lamina length removed by grazing, was similar between the four grass species in most observation periods in the ON plot. A. stolonifera lost more lamina length than either L. perenne or P. trivialis in May and June and H. lanatus lost a greater percentage of lamina length than either L. perenne or P. trivialis in May in the ON plot. In the 400N plot L. perenne lost a greater percentage of lamina length than any of the other species in June and more than P. trivialis in May. A. stolonifera lost a greater percentage of lamina length than any of the other species in July, and more than either L. perenne or P. trivialis in May. This greater severity of grazing in A. stolonifera was associated with a high incidence of tillers being grazed to stubble. H. lanatus lost more lamina length than L. perenne in May. When the loss of lamina length through grazing was converted to losses in terms of weight of tissue removed, then L. perenne consistently lost more than either A. stolonifera or P. trivialis in both the 400N and 0N plots.

The implications of these differences in tissue production and utilization on competitive interactions between L. perenne and the other three species are discussed.

Type
Crops and Soils
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 124 , Issue 3 , June 1995 , pp. 403 - 417
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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

Aarssen, L. W. & Turkington, R. (1985). Within-species diversity in natural populations of Holcus lanatus, Lolium perenne and Trifolium repens from four different-aged pastures. Journal of Ecology 73, 869–886.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barthram, G. T. & Grant, S. A. (1984). Defoliation of ryegrass-dominated swards by sheep. Grass and Forage Science 39, 211–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Charles, A. H., Jones, J. L., Thornton, M. S. & Thomas, T. A. (1979). Comparison of ryegrass with some common unsown grasses sown separately and in mixtures. In Changes in Sward Composition and Productivity (Eds Charles, A. H. & Haggar, R. J.), pp. 25–29. Occasional Symposium of the British Grassland Society, No. 10. Hurley: British Grassland Society.Google Scholar
Collins, D. P. & Murphy, W. E. (1979). Effect of sward composition on animal output. In Changes in Sward Composition and Productivity (Eds Charles, A. H. & Haggar, R. J.), pp. 93–100. Occasional Symposium of the British Grassland Society, No. 10. Hurley: British Grassland Society.Google Scholar
Dibb, C. & Haggar, R. J. (1979). Evidence of effect of sward changes on yield. In Changes in Sward Composition and Productivity (Eds Charles, A. H. & Haggar, R. J.), pp. 11–20. Occasional Symposium of the British Grassland Society, No. 10. Hurley: British Grassland Society.Google Scholar
Frame, J. (1991). Herbage production and quality of a range of secondary grass species at five rates of fertilizer nitrogen application. Grass and Forage Science 46, 139–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Genstat 5 Committee (1987). Genstat 5 Reference Manual. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Grant, S. A., Barthram, G. T., Torvell, L., King, J. & Smith, H. K. (1983). Sward management, lamina turnover and tiller population density in continuously stocked Lolium perenne-dominated swards. Grass and Forage Science 38, 333–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haggar, R. J. (1976). The seasonal productivity, quality and response to nitrogen of four indigenous grasses compared with Lolium perenne. Journal of the British Grassland Society 31, 197–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haggar, R. J. & Elliott, J. G. (1978). The effects of dalapon and stocking rate on the species composition and animal productivity of a sown sward. Journal of the British Grassland Society 33, 23–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harper, J. L. (1977). Population Biology of Plants. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Harvey, B. M. R., Crothers, S. H. & Hayes, P. (1984). Dry matter and quality of herbage harvested from Holcus lanatus and Lolium perenne grown in monocultures and in mixtures. Grass and Forage Science 39, 159–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodgson, J. & Ollerenshaw, J. H. (1969). The frequency and severity of defoliation of individual tillers in setstocked swards. Journal of the British Grassland Society 24, 226–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopkins, A., Gilbey, J., C., Dibb., Bowling, P. J. & Murray, P. J. (1990). Response of permanent and reseeded grassland to fertilizer nitrogen. 1. Herbage production and herbage quality. Grass and Forage Science 45, 43–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keddy, P. A. (1990). Competitive hierarchies and centrifugal organisation in plant communities. In Perspectives on Plant Competition (Eds Grace, J. B. & Tilman, D.), pp. 265–290. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Louda, S. M., Keeler, K. H. & Holt, R. D. (1990). Herbivore influences on plant performance and competitive interactions. In Perspectives on Plant Competition (Eds Grace, J. B. & Tilman, D.), pp. 413–444. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Parsons, A. J. & Penning, P. D. (1988). The effect of the duration of regrowth on photosynthesis, leaf death and the average rate of growth in a rotationally grazed sward. Grass and Forage Science 43, 15–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, A. & Allcock, P. J. (1985). The influence of species diversity on sward yield and quality. Journal of Applied Ecology 22, 185–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tallowin, J. R. B., Williams, J. H. H. & Large, R. V. (1986). Some consequences of imposing different continuous grazing pressures in the spring on sward morphology, herbage quality and the performance of young beef cattle. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 106, 129–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tallowin, J. R. B., Tcacenco, F., Patefield, M. & Brookman, S. K. E. (1989). A correction for the influence of changes in lamina weight per unit length in grasses on measurements of the weight of lamina removed by grazing. Grass and Forage Science 44, 205–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tallowin, J. R. B., Kirkham, F. W., Brookman, S. K. E. & Patefield, M. (1990). Response of an old pasture to applied nitrogen under steady-state continuous grazing. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 115, 179–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turkington, R. & Mehrhoff, L. A. (1990). The role of competition in structuring pasture communities. In Perspectives on Plant Competition (Eds Grace, J. B. & Tilman, D.), pp. 307–340. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Watt, T. A. (1987). A comparison of two cultivars of Holcus lanatus with Lolium perenne, under cutting. Grass and Forage Science 42, 43–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar