Productivity of white clover cultivars under intensive grazing, as affected by high nitrogen fertiliser application

Ledgard, S. F.; Sprosen, M. S.; Steele, K. W.; West, Charles P.

doi:10.1080/00288233.1995.9513149

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…Although the differences between the experiments in terms of clover yield cannot be analysed statistically they are low in comparison with other published work (e.g. Ledgard et al 1995).…”

Section: Methodscontrasting

confidence: 57%

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Long-term performance of white clover varieties grown with perennial ryegrass under rotational grazing by sheep with different nitrogen applications

et al. 2003

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SU MMARYThree experiments were carried out to investigate the dry matter production of nine white clover (Trifolium repens L.) varieties grown with the same variety of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and subjected to rotational grazing by sheep over a period of 10 years. The experiments differed only in the nitrogen fertilizer added : no nitrogen, 100 kg/ha per year and 200 kg/ha per year. Dry matter (DM) yields of white clover and perennial ryegrass components of the sward were recorded at approximately 6-week intervals during the growing season.Without applied nitrogen, 10-year mean white clover annual DM yields ranged from 2 . 89-4 . 54 t/ ha. Mean clover content for all varieties ranged from 31-50 % for the first 9 years, declining to 20 % in the 10th year. The most consistently high yielding variety, AberVantage, gave yields greater than 3 . 5 t/ha in every year. Similar results were observed for the variety Aran. The 10-year mean annual DM yield of the perennial ryegrass companion (variety Talbot) ranged from 4 . 41-5 . 57 t/ha depending on the white clover variety in the mixture. Variation in perennial ryegrass DM yield was of a similar range and pattern as for white clover.In the experiment in which 100 kg N/ha per year was added, 10-year mean white clover annual DM yields ranged from 2 . 27-3 . 87 t/ha. The varieties AberVantage and Aran showed yields that fell below 3 t/ha per year in only 1 or 2 years, respectively. Mean clover content for all varieties ranged from 26-38 % for the first 9 years, declining to 17 . 5 % in the 10th year. There was no consecutive annual decline in white clover DM yields. The 10-year mean annual DM yields of the perennial ryegrass companion ranged from 6 . 03-7 . 57 t/ha.With applied nitrogen fertilizer of 200 kg N/ha per year (Experiment 3), 10-year mean white clover annual DM yields ranged from 1 . 21-2 . 67 t/ha. Mean clover content ranged from 12-27 % for the 10 years. AberVantage and Aran showed yields consistently above 2 t/ha. No general decline in white clover DM yields was observed although some varieties showed consecutive annual reductions in years 8, 9 and 10. The 10-year mean annual DM perennial ryegrass yields ranged from 7 . 27-8 . 68 t/ha.The results show that, under rotational grazing by sheep, white clover can give reliably high yields over a 10-year period. With moderate to high applications of nitrogen fertilizer white clover yields were lower than without nitrogen but they were consistent and sufficient to make a considerable impact on forage quality. There was no evidence for a general decline in clover content until the 10th year of the experiment and no cyclical pattern of annual variation in white clover yield was observed. The implications of these results for the role of white clover in UK agriculture are discussed.

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“…Although the differences between the experiments in terms of clover yield cannot be analysed statistically they are low in comparison with other published work (e.g. Ledgard et al 1995).…”

Section: Methodscontrasting

confidence: 57%

“…1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Years Previous reports have found a strong and durable negative correlation between white clover and grass DM yields (e.g. Ledgard et al 1995). In the present study this was found only to a limited extent, predominantly in harvest years 5-8.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 42%

Long-term performance of white clover varieties grown with perennial ryegrass under rotational grazing by sheep with different nitrogen applications

et al. 2003

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“…Greater rates of spring growth and response to N fertilizer application favor the competitive ability of grass Body condition score was on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = emaciated and 5 = extremely fat, using 0.25 increments). *P < 0.05; ***P < 0.001. over clover within GWc swards (Frame and Newbould, 1986;Ledgard et al, 1995;Andrews et al, 2007). Frequent harvesting of the additional grass growth resulting from the fertilizer N minimizes shading and, to some extent, suppresses grass growth to the benefit of clover (Harris and Clark, 1996;Ledgard et al, 2001).…”

Section: Sward Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Milk production and enteric methane emissions by dairy cows grazing fertilized perennial ryegrass pasture with or without inclusion of white clover

Enríquez-Hidalgo

Gilliland

Deighton

et al. 2014

Journal of Dairy Science

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An experiment was undertaken to investigate the effect of white clover inclusion in grass swards (GWc) compared with grass-only (GO) swards receiving high nitrogen fertilization and subjected to frequent and tight grazing on herbage and dairy cow productivity and enteric methane (CH4) emissions. Thirty cows were allocated to graze either a GO or GWc sward (n=15) from April 17 to October 31, 2011. Fresh herbage [16 kg of dry matter (DM)/cow] and 1 kg of concentrate/cow were offered daily. Herbage DM intake (DMI) was estimated on 3 occasions (May, July, and September) during which 17 kg of DM/cow per day was offered (and concentrate supplementation was withdrawn). In September, an additional 5 cows were added to each sward treatment (n=20) and individual CH4 emissions were estimated using the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) technique. Annual clover proportion (± SE) in the GWc swards was 0.20 ± 0.011. Swards had similar pregrazing herbage mass (1,800 ± 96 kg of DM/ha) and herbage production (13,110 ± 80 kg of DM/ha). The GWc swards tended to have lower DM and NDF contents but greater CP content than GO swards, but only significant differences were observed in the last part of the grazing season. Cows had similar milk and milk solids yields (19.4 ± 0.59 and 1.49 ± 0.049 kg/d, respectively) and similar milk composition. Cows also had similar DMI in the 3 measurement periods (16.0 ± 0.70 kg DM/cow per d). Similar sward and animal performance was observed during the CH4 estimation period, but GWc swards had 7.4% less NDF than GO swards. Cows had similar daily and per-unit-of-output CH4 emissions (357.1 ± 13.6g of CH4/cow per day, 26.3 ± 1.14 g of CH4/kg of milk, and 312.3 ± 11.5 g of CH4/kg of milk solids) but cows grazing GWc swards had 11.9% lower CH4 emissions per unit of feed intake than cows grazing GO swards due to the numerically lower CH4 per cow per day and a tendency for the GWc cows to have greater DMI compared with the GO cows. As a conclusion, under the conditions of this study, sward clover content in the GWc swards was not sufficient to improve overall sward herbage production and quality, or dairy cow productivity. Although GWc cows had a tendency to consume more and emitted less CH4 per unit of feed intake than GO cows, no difference was observed in daily or per-unit-of-output CH4 emissions.

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“…Seasonal climatic conditions and pasture production data for three years after establishment were presented by Ledgard et al (1996). Seasonal climatic conditions and pasture production data for three years after establishment were presented by Ledgard et al (1996).…”

Section: Fig 3 Relationship Between White Clover Production and N2mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen fixation by nine white clover cultivars in grazed pasture, as affected by nitrogen fertilization

Ledgard

Sprosen

Steele³

1996

Plant Soil

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Nitrogen fixation by nine white clover cultivars in grazed pasture, as affected by nitrogen fertilizationS t e w a r t E L e d g a r d 1, M i k e S. S p r o s e n I and K e i t h W. Steele 2 1AgResearch, AbstractForage production and N2 fixation were determined for nine cultivars of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) grown with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and receiving nitrogen (N) fertilizer at either 0 or 390 kg N ha-t yr-i. The site was grazed by sheep at 3 or 6 (in winter and summer) week intervals and N fertilizer was applied at 30 kg N ha-t after each grazing. Annual white clover production showed a 2-fold variation between cultivars and was positively correlated with total pasture production in the 0 N treatment. Nitrogen fertilizer application increased average total pasture dry matter (DM) production from 12830 to 16010 kg ha-1 yr-l, but decreased average white clover production from 3600 to 2970 kg DM ha-1 yr-1.Fertilizer N application decreased annual N2 fixation from 111 to 47 kg N ha-1 (mean for all cultivars, using 15N dilution), with the decline occurring predominantly in spring and summer. The decrease in N2 fixation in spring from 47 to 18 kg N ha-t was due largely to a decrease in clover DM production. In contrast, N application decreased average N2 fixation in summer from 36 to 14 kg N ha -1 due mainly to a large decrease in the proportion of clover N derived from atmospheric N2 (from 49 to 24%), with clover DM production falling by only 10%.Clover cultivars showed a variation in annual N2 fixation of about 3-fold under both N regimes. During winter and spring, the amount of N fixed by the different cultivars was determined predominantly by their DM production in both N regimes. In contrast, during summer and autumn there was a marked variation between cultivars in tolerance of N2 fixation to increased soil inorganic N due to N fertilizer application. This was evident from a significant cultivar × N interaction for the proportion (PN) of clover N derived from N2 fixation. During summer/autumn, PN for Kopu was similar in the 0 and 390 N treatments, whereas PN declined by up to two-thirds for the other cultivars. Consequently, in summer/autumn the amount of N fixed by Kopu decreased by only 20% (from 65 to 52 kg N ha -1) due to N application whereas it decreased by 40-80% (to 15-34 kg N ha -1) for the other cuitivars. Thus, N2 fixation during winter/spring was highest for the most productive large-leaved cultivars (Kopu, Aran and Pitau) either in the absence or presence of added N. In contrast, in summer/autumn the cultivars differed in tolerance to added N, and N2 fixation in the 390 N treatment was higher for the more tolerant cultivar Kopu than for the other cultivars.

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Productivity of white clover cultivars under intensive grazing, as affected by high nitrogen fertiliser application

Cited by 13 publications

References 16 publications

Long-term performance of white clover varieties grown with perennial ryegrass under rotational grazing by sheep with different nitrogen applications

Long-term performance of white clover varieties grown with perennial ryegrass under rotational grazing by sheep with different nitrogen applications

Milk production and enteric methane emissions by dairy cows grazing fertilized perennial ryegrass pasture with or without inclusion of white clover

Nitrogen fixation by nine white clover cultivars in grazed pasture, as affected by nitrogen fertilization

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