scholarly journals Effects of removing sheep grazing on soil chemistry, plant nutrition and forage digestibility: Lessons for rewilding the British uplands

2018 ◽  
Vol 173 (3) ◽  
pp. 294-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Marrs ◽  
Raúl Sánchez ◽  
Leslie Connor ◽  
Sabena Blackbird ◽  
Jennifer Rasal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Chemistry ◽  
Plant Nutrition ◽  
Sheep Grazing ◽  
Forage Digestibility ◽  
Chemistry Plant

scholarly journals Integration of sheep grazing for cover crop termination into market gardens: Agronomic consequences of an ecologically based management strategy

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 389-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean C. McKenzie ◽  
Hayes B. Goosey ◽  
Kevin M. O'Neill ◽  
Fabian D. Menalled
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Soil Chemistry ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Sheep Grazing ◽  
Alternative Source ◽  
Cash Crop ◽  
Cash Crops ◽  
Species Cover

AbstractCover crops are suites of non-marketable plants grown to improve soil tilth and reduce erosion. Despite these agronomic benefits, the use of cover crops is often limited because they do not provide a direct source of revenue for producers. Integrating livestock to graze cover crops could provide both an expeditious method for cover crop termination and an alternative source of revenue. However, there has been little research on the agronomic impacts of grazing for cover crop termination, especially in horticultural market-gardens. We conducted a 3-year study comparing the effects of sheep grazing to terminate a four species cover crop (buckwheat, sweetclover, peas and beets) with those of mowing on soil quality indicators, cover crop termination efficacy, and subsequent cash-crop yields. In addition, we tested the nutritional quality of the cover crop as forage. Compared with mowing, sheep grazing did not affect soil chemistry, temperature or moisture. Our study demonstrates that sheep grazing removed more cover crop biomass than mowing at termination. The assessment of nutritional indices suggests that the four-species cover crop mixture could provide high-quality forage with a potential value of US$144.00–481.80 ha−1of direct revenue as a grazing lease. Cash-crop yields did not differ between previously grazed and previously mowed plots in the subsequent growing season. We conclude that integrating sheep grazing into market vegetable garden operations could make cover crops more economically viable without having adverse effects on subsequent cash crops.

Interaction of pH amendment and potassium fertiliser on soil chemistry and banana plant growth

1999 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. A. Vimpany ◽  
G. G. Johns
Keyword(s):  
Soil Chemistry ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Banana Plant ◽  
Plant Weight ◽  
Mg Deficiency ◽  
Very High ◽  
Plant Nutrient Content ◽  
Chemistry Plant ◽  
Mn Concentrations

Two glasshouse trials were conducted at Alstonville, NSW, to investigate the effects of rates of potassium (K) fertiliser and pH amendment on soil chemistry, plant nutrient content, and growth of tissue-cultured banana plants. The first trial used 5 rates of lime combined with 5 rates of KCl with plants in 1.5-L pots, and the subsequent trial used 4 rates of pH amendment (CaCO3 + MgO) combined with 4 rates of K2SO4 with plants in 140-L troughs. The soil used in both trials was the A horizon of a Yellow Kurosol. In the pot trial, very high rates of KCl caused a reduction in plant weight, and heaviest plants were produced at pH 4.5 5 (pHCa, measured with CaCl2). Analysis of exchangeable and soluble cations indicated that increasing rates of added KCl displaced both Ca and Mg off cation exchange surfaces into the soil solution, from where they could be lost by leaching. Liming caused a marked decrease in plant Zn and Mn concentrations to levels that may have limited growth when soil pHCa exceeded about 5.0. In the trough trial, plant weight was greatest at pHCa 4.3. Plant weight responded negatively to increasing K2SO4 at pHCa 3.5, positively at pHCa 4.3, and was generally unresponsive at the higher pHCa values of 5.0 and 5.8. A multiplicative Mitscherlich model was used to relate plant weight to leaf nutrient concentrations and indicated that plant weight was most limited by Mg deficiency at pHCa 3.5 and Mn deficiency at pHCa 5.8, with K availability having a moderate effect on growth at intermediate pHCa levels. Mg deficiency occurred at low pH despite regular foliar applications of this element, indicating the inefficacy of the foliar pathway for fertilising bananas with macro-nutrients. The study indicated that attempting to raise the pHCa of this soil above 5.0 for banana growing may not be appropriate, and due attention should be paid to Mg requirements and possible effects of liming on trace element availability.

THE PERFORMANCE OF S170 TALL FESCUE IN CANTERBURY

1974 ◽  
pp. 214-215
Author(s):  
B.R. Watkin
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Tall Fescue ◽  
Trifolium Repens ◽  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Sheep Grazing ◽  
Selection Of

AN Aberystwyth selection of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), known as S170, was sown with certified New Zealand white clover (Trifolium repens) and re' clover (T. pratense) and compared under sheep grazing with other grass/clover pastures at the Grasslands Division Regional Station at Lincoln (Watkin, 1975) .

A REVIEW OF 10 YEARS' RESEARCH WITH RED CLOVERS UNDER GRAZING IN SOUTHLAND

1989 ◽  
pp. 181-187
Author(s):  
R.J.M. Hay ◽  
D.L. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Tall Fescue ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Seasonal Growth ◽  
Sheep Grazing ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Late Flowering ◽  
Heavy Weight ◽  
Widespread Acceptance ◽  
Summer Growth

In a series of trials at Grasslands Gore, over 10 years, the late-flowering tetraploid red clover 'Grassland Pawera' was more productive and persistent than other red clover cultivars. The strong summer growth of Pawera meets the need for heavy-weight lamb feed and high quality forage for conservation in intensive sheep farming systems in Southland. Lenient. infrequent defoliation is necessary to maximise DM production and persistence of Pawera. The most compatible of the grasses evaluated was 'Grasslands Roa' tall fescue. However, 'Grasslands Nui' ryegrass will still be the major grass sown with Pawera owing to its widespread acceptance. In ryegrass mixtures, sowing rates of 5-7 kg/ha of red clover were needed to optimise establishment and subsequent yield. Evidence of oestrogenic activity of Pewera to sheep prompted Grasslands Division to select within Pawera for a low formononetin cultivar. Keywords: red clover, Pawera. Hamua, Turoa. G21. G22, G27. oestrogenic activity, Nui ryegrass, Roa tall fescue, Maru phalaris. Southland, sheep grazing, frequency, intensity, quality. seasonal growth

THE ECONOMICS OF FORESTRY VERSUS PASTURE

1971 ◽  
pp. 18-25
Author(s):  
J.B. Jackman
Keyword(s):  
Sheep Grazing ◽  
Farm Forestry ◽  
Tax Returns

The post-tax returns/acre/annum of farm woodlot scale forestry are compared with sheep siocked at 5 stock units/acre. The results are presented as a break-even timber value. This is the paint at which returns from forestry and farming are equal, thereby implying that farm forestry would be more profitable than sheep grazing at timber values above the breakeven.

Influence of NPK fertilization on weed flora in maize field

2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Éva Lehoczky ◽  
M. Kamuti ◽  
N. Mazsu ◽  
J. Tamás ◽  
D. Sáringer-Kenyeres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Nutrition ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Weed Species ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Production Factors ◽  
Maize Field ◽  
Weed Flora ◽  
Npk Fertilization

Plant nutrition is one of the most important intensification factors of crop production. The utilization of nutrients, however, may be modified by a number of production factors, including weed presence. Thus, the knowledge of occurring weed species, their abundance, nutrient and water uptake is extremely important to establish an appropriate basis for the evaluation of their risks or negative effects on crops. That is why investigations were carried out in a long-term fertilization experiment on the influence of different nutrient supplies (Ø, PK, NK, NPK) on weed flora in maize field.The weed surveys recorded similar diversity on the experimental area: the species of A. artemisiifolia, S. halepense and D. stramonium were dominant, but C. album and C. hybridum were also common. These species and H. annuus were the most abundant weeds.Based on the totalized and average data of all treatments, density followed the same tendency in the experimental years. It was the highest in the PK treated and untreated plots, and significantly exceeded the values of NK fertilized areas. Presumably the better N availability promoted the development of nitrophilic weeds, while the mortality of other small species increased.Winter wheat and maize forecrops had no visible influence on the diversity and the intensity of weediness. On the contrary, there were consistent differences in the density of certain weed species in accordance to the applied nutrients. A. artemisiifolia was present in the largest number in the untreated control and PK fertilized plots. The density of S. halepense and H. annuus was also significantly higher in the control areas. The number of their individuals was smaller in those plots where N containing fertilizers were used. Contrary to them, the density of D. stramonium, C. album and C. hybridum was the highest in the NPK treatments.

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