A study was conducted at Lekubane Rangeland Research Station in Lesotho to determine forage responses to stocking rates and season over a one-year period. The experimental design consisted of three stocking rates namely, light (3.5 ewes ha-1 year-1), moderate (5.6 ewes ha-1 year-1) and heavy (14 ewes ha-1 year-1) and four seasons (autumn, winter, spring and summer) combined factorially in a Completely Randomised Block Design (CRBD) with three replicates per treatment. Data collected included biomass production, botanical composition and crude protein content.
Total biomass production of forages at the end of the study was significantly (p<0.05) lower (3191 kg ha-1) in the heavy stocking rate than in the moderate (3821 kg ha-1) and light (3834 kg ha-1) stocking rates. Seasonal variation significantly (p<0.05) altered crude protein (CP) content of the grass species as evidenced by a decline in crude protein from 5.6 % CP in summer and 7.8 % CP in autumn to 4.2 % CP in winter and 4.3 % CP in spring.
The results of this study suggest that an appropriate stocking rate that would lead to an increase in sheep productivity while ensuring conservation of forage resources was not achieved. Under the conditions of this study, it would be concluded that season exerted greater impact on sward productivity than stocking rate.
source:abstract
Articles, citations, reports, websites, and multimedia resources focused on rangeland ecology, management, restoration, and other issues on American rangelands.