Background Recently,there has been increasing interest in the use of multispecies(MS)swards in dairy grazing systems.Methods A plot grazing study was established to investigate the potential contribution of different ...Background Recently,there has been increasing interest in the use of multispecies(MS)swards in dairy grazing systems.Methods A plot grazing study was established to investigate the potential contribution of different sward species(perennial ryegrass,legumes and herbs)sown in grazing pastures.Ten sward mixtures were sown,ranging in complexity from a perennial ryegrass(PRG)monoculture to binary mixtures including either forage legumes or herbs to a five-species mixture;four different nitrogen(N)application rates of 0,100,150 and 200 kg N ha−1 were applied to each sward.Results Species abundance for all sward species components was associated with the interaction of time point and sward mixture;species abundance for all sward components,except PRG,was associated with the interaction of N application and sward mixture.The interactions of time point and sward mixture,and time point and N application rate,were associated with all analysed sward chemical components,except for sward digestibility.Conclusions Increased N application rates reduced the level of clover in all sward mixtures.Increased levels of white clover led to increased sward crude protein levels;the inclusion of ribwort plantain led to some seasonal variation in the nutritive value of swards.展开更多
基金The authors would like to thank the Moorepark farm and grassland laboratory staff,in particular,Andy McGrath,Pat O'Connor,David Flynn and Michelle Liddane,for their help with data collection and processing.The authors would also like to acknowledge the support of the Teagasc Walsh Scholarship scheme and University College Dublin,along with the financial support of VistaMilk(16/RC/3835),which facilitated the current study.
文摘Background Recently,there has been increasing interest in the use of multispecies(MS)swards in dairy grazing systems.Methods A plot grazing study was established to investigate the potential contribution of different sward species(perennial ryegrass,legumes and herbs)sown in grazing pastures.Ten sward mixtures were sown,ranging in complexity from a perennial ryegrass(PRG)monoculture to binary mixtures including either forage legumes or herbs to a five-species mixture;four different nitrogen(N)application rates of 0,100,150 and 200 kg N ha−1 were applied to each sward.Results Species abundance for all sward species components was associated with the interaction of time point and sward mixture;species abundance for all sward components,except PRG,was associated with the interaction of N application and sward mixture.The interactions of time point and sward mixture,and time point and N application rate,were associated with all analysed sward chemical components,except for sward digestibility.Conclusions Increased N application rates reduced the level of clover in all sward mixtures.Increased levels of white clover led to increased sward crude protein levels;the inclusion of ribwort plantain led to some seasonal variation in the nutritive value of swards.
