Grassland and Grazing Research

Abstract

Two new bulletins in the Herbage Publication Series have been issued by the Imperial Bureau of Plant Genetics at Aberystwyth. The first, entitled “Grazing”(Bull. No. 10. 1s. 6d.), consists of a collection of papers read at the British Association meeting at Leicester in 1933, each of which approaches the subject from a different aspect. The grazier's problems are put forward from a practical man's point of view, while the effect of the stock on the sward is considered in the light of experimental evidence. The Bureau has for some months been collecting information regarding the technique employed in pasture and grassland research in Great Britain and certain dominions, and the other bulletin (“Technique employed in Grassland Research iri New Zealand”, Bull. No. 11. 3s.) is the first publication on the subject. Questions of strain testing and building in grasses, clovers or lucerne, the breeding methods employed and the necessary corollary-the certification of herbage seeds-form the subject of several of the papers. The measurement of pasture production is considered in detail. A modification of the technique formerly described as ‘alternate mowing and grazing’ is put forward, while the layout of the experiments, the stage at which cuttings should be made, and the technique of stock grazing trials are among other major points dealt with. Reference is also made to two laboratory tests which have proved useful in conjunction with field work. In the first place the prussic acid content has proved valuable as a means of distinguishing between different types of wild white clover, while screened ultraviolet light has been successfully employed in rye grass type determination.