Limited availability of herbage during the cool season creates a problem of a supply of nutrients for livestock producers throughout the southern Great Plains of the USA and, particularly, on small farms where resource constraints limit possible mitigating strategies. Six coolseason grasses were individually sown into clean-tilled ground, no-till drilled into stubble of Korean lespedeza [Kummer...

The aim of this experiment was to study the effect of breed (Churra and Merino) and advancing season (middle June, late July and early October) on rumen fermentation in sheep grazing a continuously stocked grass /white clover pasture. Six mature sheep (three Churra and three Merino) fitted with rumen cannulae were used. During each grazing period, samples of the grazed herbage (obtained using t...

A 2 × 2 factorial experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of herbage or concentrate feeding system and tannin addition to diet on skatole and indole in ruminal fluid and adipose tissue and meat sensory properties. Twenty-eight male lambs aged 45 days were randomly assigned to one of two feeding systems (vetch green herbage or concentrates, n = 14) and within feeding system to one supp...

Using a dual-flow continuous culture fermenter system, this study evaluated the effect of timing of corn silage supplementation on ruminal digestion and nutrient flows following a short and intensive orchardgrass herbage meal. Treatments included 28 g dry matter (DM) of corn silage added either 9h (9BH; 0700 h) or 1h (1BH; 1500 h) before adding 42 g DM orchardgrass herbage or no corn silage (co...

The time at pasture of dairy cows is often restricted in the context of extending the grazing season in autumn or at the end of winter. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effects of a restriction of time at pasture on milk production, herbage intake and feeding behaviour in dairy cows according to feeding regime. The four treatments consisted of 4 h or 8 h of time at pasture per day...

The present study evaluated the effect of controlled ryegrass-white clover herbage availability from day 128 until day 142 of pregnancy in comparison to unrestricted availability, on the performance of twin-bearing ewes of varying body condition score (BCS; 2.0, 2.5, or 3.0) and their lambs. It was hypothesised that under conditions of controlled herbage availability, the performance of lambs b...

The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is a very large land unit and an important terrestrial ecosystem within the Eurasian continent. Because of the harsh climate associated with the high altitude, alpine meadows on the plateau are susceptible to degradation from overgrazing. For this region, and for other alpine meadow pastures internationally, there is a need to define the sustainable stocking rate, to...

Sodium alginate, irradiated by Co-60 gamma rays in solid state, elicits plant growth promoting responses in various plants. Irradiated sodium alginate (ISA) was applied as a foliar spray on mint (Mentha arvensis L.) to investigate its effect on plant growth, physiological attributes and herbage yield as well as on content and yield of essential oil and its components (menthol, L-menthone, isome...

In the present study basal area and Importance Value Index (IVI) attributes of herbage were investigated in chir pine (Pinus roxburghii Sargent) stands of three different ages and also in open grassland in the sub-tropical region of Himachal Pradesh (India) during growing season (June to September). A higher basal area of the herbage was recorded in open grassland as compared to chir pine stand...

Past research on nitrogen (N) inputs, losses and surpluses focused on separate components of grassland management, i.e., grazed or cut swards and the impact of fertiliser or slurry applications. In practice, however, grassland is both grazed and cut for conservation, and N fertiliser is supplied from both organic and inorganic sources. A whole systems approach was used to evaluate the effects o...