An examination of the effect of autumn closing date on over-winter herbage production and spring yield
Altering autumn management affects the herbage mass available in spring. An experiment was established to determine the effect of five autumn closing dates (CDs) on herbage production, herbage quality, leaf, stem and dead proportions and tiller density over winter. In the study 50% of the herbage av...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Compuscript Ltd
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research |
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| Online Access: | https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/ijafr-2020-0129 |
| _version_ | 1827971911078903808 |
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| author | C. Looney D. Hennessy A. Wingler A. Claffey M. Egan |
| author_facet | C. Looney D. Hennessy A. Wingler A. Claffey M. Egan |
| author_sort | C. Looney |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Altering autumn management affects the herbage mass available in spring. An experiment was established to determine the effect of five autumn closing dates (CDs) on herbage production, herbage quality, leaf, stem and dead proportions and tiller density over winter. In the study 50% of the herbage available in spring was accounted for by autumn CD. Each 1 d extra a sward was closed from 25 September to 9 December increased herbage mass by 16 kg DM/ha in spring. Swards closed earlier (25 September–26 October) had consistently higher herbage masses in spring (1,301 kg DM/ha) compared to swards closed later (11 November–9 December; 703 kg DM/ha). Later closed swards had greater herbage quality compared to earlier closed swards (organic matter digestibility = 852 and 825 g/kg DM, respectively) due to increased stem and dead material in the grazing horizon of earlier closed swards. There was no effect of autumn CD on sward quality in the subsequent defoliation in spring. However, following the initial spring grazing there was an effect of autumn CD on subsequent grass growth rates; swards closed in October had a lower growth rate (33 kg DM/ha per day) compared to swards closed in November and early December (49 kg DM/ha per day). Results indicate that earlier autumn closing is beneficial to meet high-feed demand in spring but can affect sward quality and growth rates in spring. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:14:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9ca3daeb3cb640f1b9a44353eacb5e69 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2009-9029 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:14:52Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | Compuscript Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-9ca3daeb3cb640f1b9a44353eacb5e692023-04-06T06:27:07ZengCompuscript LtdIrish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research2009-90292021-06-01601657710.15212/ijafr-2020-0129An examination of the effect of autumn closing date on over-winter herbage production and spring yieldC. Looney0D. Hennessy1A. Wingler2A. Claffey3M. Egan4Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, IrelandTeagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, IrelandSchool of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences and Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Distillery Fields, North Mall, Cork, IrelandTeagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, IrelandTeagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, IrelandAltering autumn management affects the herbage mass available in spring. An experiment was established to determine the effect of five autumn closing dates (CDs) on herbage production, herbage quality, leaf, stem and dead proportions and tiller density over winter. In the study 50% of the herbage available in spring was accounted for by autumn CD. Each 1 d extra a sward was closed from 25 September to 9 December increased herbage mass by 16 kg DM/ha in spring. Swards closed earlier (25 September–26 October) had consistently higher herbage masses in spring (1,301 kg DM/ha) compared to swards closed later (11 November–9 December; 703 kg DM/ha). Later closed swards had greater herbage quality compared to earlier closed swards (organic matter digestibility = 852 and 825 g/kg DM, respectively) due to increased stem and dead material in the grazing horizon of earlier closed swards. There was no effect of autumn CD on sward quality in the subsequent defoliation in spring. However, following the initial spring grazing there was an effect of autumn CD on subsequent grass growth rates; swards closed in October had a lower growth rate (33 kg DM/ha per day) compared to swards closed in November and early December (49 kg DM/ha per day). Results indicate that earlier autumn closing is beneficial to meet high-feed demand in spring but can affect sward quality and growth rates in spring.https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/ijafr-2020-0129autumn grazing dateherbage massspring grasssward quality |
| spellingShingle | C. Looney D. Hennessy A. Wingler A. Claffey M. Egan An examination of the effect of autumn closing date on over-winter herbage production and spring yield Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research autumn grazing date herbage mass spring grass sward quality |
| title | An examination of the effect of autumn closing date on over-winter herbage production and spring yield |
| title_full | An examination of the effect of autumn closing date on over-winter herbage production and spring yield |
| title_fullStr | An examination of the effect of autumn closing date on over-winter herbage production and spring yield |
| title_full_unstemmed | An examination of the effect of autumn closing date on over-winter herbage production and spring yield |
| title_short | An examination of the effect of autumn closing date on over-winter herbage production and spring yield |
| title_sort | examination of the effect of autumn closing date on over winter herbage production and spring yield |
| topic | autumn grazing date herbage mass spring grass sward quality |
| url | https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/ijafr-2020-0129 |
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