Rangeland Ecology & Management

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GRAZING SYSTEMS EFFECTS ON STAND LONGEVITY FOR NEWLY DEVELOPED SAINFOIN POPULATIONS IN PURE AND MIXED STANDS
Author
Iwaasa, Alan D.
Acharya, Surya N.
Birkedal, Edward
Muri, Russ
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2014
Body

Pure and mixed sainfoin (S)/alfalfa (A) tests (S: Nova, LRC-3900, LRC-3901 and LRC-3902, A: AC-Grazeland) were established in 2008 using a RCBD with four replications small plot design at Swift Current, Saskatchewan.  Objective of this study was to determine persistence of new sainfoin populations when grown in pure and mixed stands with alfalfa in western Canada under different direct grazing systems.  Continuous grazing treatment consisted of placing two yearling cattle on one small plot design from the beginning of July to October.  Rotational grazing treatment placed 10 yearling cattle on a different small plot design for about five days at the beginning of July.  If sufficient regrowth occurred a second grazing would occur.  In the spring, segment plant counts per m2 were determined from 2009 to 2012 for each grazing system pure and mixed small plots.  Also at the time of grazing, samples from each plot were taken for determination of species composition.  For continuous grazing there was no interaction and significant main effects of the sainfoin population (P<0.05) and year (P<0.0001) were observed.  After four production years there was no difference in average plant count decline between pure and mix Nova compared to the other sainfoin populations.  Plant count drops for the mixes versus pure were higher (P<0.05).  For rotational grazing there was no interaction and only main effects year (P<0.0001) was significant.  Rotational grazing does not appear to affect stand longevity among the different pure and mix sainfoin populations as did continuous direct grazing.  Average percent of sainfoin as a proportion of the DM yield in mixes after four grazing seasons was greater than 20%.  Studies have shown that 15% or more sainfoin in an alfalfa mixture can eliminate risk of pasture bloat.  Results showed that the new sainfoin population persistences are similar to Nova under either grazing systems.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Orlando, FL