Producing high quality forage and maintaining productive pastures is a major challenge that beef producers encounter, as rejuvenation is a complex and costly challenge. This is part of a series of papers looking at potential options and methods of rejuvenation to improve the productivity of older forage stands in northern Alberta. The methods of rejuvenation investigated were sub-soiling, break & re-seeding, a combination of manure application plus subsoiling, high stock density grazing, bale grazing, pasture rest, as well as direct seeding in spring and fall. In this series, forage dry matter (DM) yield, forage nutritive value and economic performance are presented and discussed. The top 5 forage DM yielders were bale grazing, manure + subsoil in fall, break & re-seeding, high stock density grazing and fertilizer application in that order. In both years, bale grazing consistently produced higher forage DM yield than other methods including control, with bale grazing giving up to 100% higher yield at site-1 and 219% at site-2 for the 2-year total forage DM. Most forage nutritive value parameters measured were similar for the rejuvenation methods investigated. A simplified economic analysis done in this study showed that the direct input cost of rejuvenation an old forage stand was higher with the break & re-seeding method than other methods. However, for bale grazing, when the cost of hay bales used was factored in, then the cost of bale grazing far exceeded those of other methods including break & re-seeding. The implications of the results obtained in this study in relation to beef cattle production system are highlighted.
The study was aimed at providing livestock producers with options on practical methods to improve soil quality of pastures for improved forage production and livestock carrying capacity. The study was carried out on-farm from 2015 to 2017 at two sites in northern Alberta, Canada. The methods of rejuvenation (treatments) evaluated were: sub-soiling, break & re-seed (pasture renewal), a combination of manure application plus subsoiling, pasture rest, inorganic fertilizer application, high stock density grazing and bale grazing. A check/control treatment was included for comparison. For break & re-seed, the forage mixture seeded (16.8 kg ha -1 ) consisted of 60% grasses and 40% legumes. Overall, bale grazing improved soil organic matter (SOM) by up to 3.80% over other methods including check. In terms of soil compaction penetration resistance, water infiltration rate, water content and nutrients particularly N, P and K, bale grazing system as a method of rejuvenating old pastures significantly showed higher values than check at both sites. Without having to break and re-seed old pastures, the first option that livestock producers would have success with in improving soil quality for better pasture productivity would be bale grazing. The next two methods or rejuvenation strategies with great potential for improving soil conditions for pastures would be a combination of manure application plus subsoil in fall and high stock density grazing.
1 The red clover casebearer Coleophora deauratella Leinig and Zeller is an invasive pest of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) grown for seed production in Canada. Drastic yield losses (80-99.5%) have been reported in several growing regions over the last 30 years as a result of larval feeding damage.2 Field trials conducted in red clover seed production fields in Alberta, Canada, during the summers of 2010-2012 tested the efficacy of pheromone-baited traps to predict population density and assess male flight phenology of C. deauratella. 3 Male moth pheromone-trap capture was positively related to larval abundance and proportion seed damage at both moderate and high population densities. 4 Phenological models based on degree days (DD 11.7 ) were better at describing median (50%) male flight compared with ordinal date models. Median C. deauratella male flight occurs at 258.39 DD 11.7 , starting from 1 January each year in the Peace River region of Alberta. 5 The results obtained in the present study demonstrate that pheromone-baited traps can be used to detect the spread of this invasive species. Future work could incorporate pheromone-based monitoring into assessment for the need and timing of control measures to target this invasive pest.
McKenzie, R. H., Bremer, E., Middleton, A. B., Beres, B., Yoder, C., Hietamaa, C., Pfiffner, P., Kereliuk, G., Pauly, D. and Henriquez, B. 2014. Agronomic practices for bioethanol production from spring triticale in Alberta. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 15–22. Triticale (×Triticosecale Wittmack) is an attractive crop for biofuel production due to its high grain yield potential, weed competitiveness, and drought tolerance. Field plot studies were conducted at seven locations across Alberta from 2008 to 2010 to determine optimum agronomic practices (seeding date, seeding rate and N fertilizer rate) for grain and starch production of spring triticale. The yield penalty from delayed seeding was variable, with an average yield decline of only 0.1% per day. Significant yield benefits from increasing seeding rates from 100 to 500 viable seeds m−2 were obtained at site-years with more than 200 mm of growing season precipitation, but were inconsistent or negligible at site-years with less than 200 mm of growing season precipitation. Optimum N fertilizer rates for grain production increased with growing season precipitation, but were not correlated with pre-seeding soil extractable NO3-N levels. Starch concentrations were either unaffected or only slightly affected by seeding date, seeding rate or N fertilizer rate. Thus, agronomic practices that were optimum for triticale grain production were also optimum for starch production. Under good growing conditions, grain production of spring triticale was optimum when seeded at 350 to 450 seeds m−2 and N fertilizer rates of 90 to 150 kg N ha−1.
Integrating Perennial Forage Seed Crops in RotationsCore Ideas Integration of perennial forage seed crops in cropping sequences can be productive and profitable. Prevailing commodity prices have bearing on the relative profitability of the crops. Forage legumes can replace external nitrogen application for two succeeding crops. Complementary studies help to elucidate agro-ecosystem services of perennial seed crops.
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