Selection by Lambs Grazing Plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.), Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), White Clover (Trifolium repens L.), Red Clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) across Seasons.

Sharini C Somasiri,Paul R Kenyon,Patrick C.H Morel,Peter D Kemp,Stephen T Morris

doi:10.3390/ani10122292

Sharini C Somasiri, Paul R Kenyon + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122292

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Abstract

Simple SummaryDiverse pastures based on combinations of the forage herb species plantain and chicory with red clover and white clover, provide superior annual feeding value to finish lambs in temperate regions, compared to the traditionally used perennial ryegrass and white clover pastures. The success of herb-clover diverse pastures is dependent on maintaining the relative abundance of each species in the mix over time. The selective grazing by lambs on herb-clover mixes was compared with their selection on perennial ryegrass and white clover pasture, by using randomly tagged individual plants, to determine if selective grazing changed the relative abundance of any of the herb or clover species. Variations in the selection of the forage species over the seasons of the year were observed, but best practice grazing management was shown to maintain the relative abundance of species in herb-clover pastures required for superior lamb live weight gains.Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) and chicory (Cichorium intybus) are now widely used in combination with clover species to provide greater annual lamb live weight gains than perennial ryegrass and white clover pasture. Reported selective grazing of the species in herb-clover mixes could potentially detrimentally change the relative abundance of species and decrease lamb production. Lambs were offered three herbage treatments: Pasture (perennial ryegrass and white clover) mix, plantain (plantain, red clover and white clover) mix and a chicory (chicory, plantain, red clover and white clover) mix in each of four seasons for two years. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with three replicates with 18–30 lambs per treatment replicate depending on the season. Lambs were rotationally grazed and fed ad libitum. Selection by the lambs of individually tagged plants within the pasture treatments was observed for three days on two occasions per season. Red clover was the most selected species on day 1, but by day 3 there was no difference in the selection of the species (p < 0.05). Plantain and chicory in the plantain and chicory mixes were selected less on day 1 in autumn relative to the other seasons (p < 0.05). It was concluded that three days of grazing before moving lambs maintained the relative abundance of species in the herb-clover mixes.

Highlights

Plantain and chicory have increasingly been used by farmers in various combinations with clover species to provide diverse, or mixed species, swards that improve livestock growth rates compared to perennial ryegrass and white clover swards from spring to autumn [1]
The proportion of plantain declined in late spring and summer in both the plantain and chicory mixes
The proportion of red clover in both herb-clover mixes and the proportion of chicory in the chicory mix increased during the late spring to summer season

Summary

Introduction

Plantain and chicory have increasingly been used by farmers in various combinations with clover species to provide diverse, or mixed species, swards that improve livestock growth rates compared to perennial ryegrass and white clover swards from spring to autumn [1]. Swards with a diversity of species are liable to have the relative abundance of the species change in response to diet selection by livestock, and, not deliver the herbage or livestock production expected from the initial sward [2,3]. Grazing management that sustains the required balance of all species in herb and clover sward mixes needs to consider the diet selection by livestock of the individual species in the mixes [2,3]. Current best practice grazing advice for plantain and chicory is a minimum grazing height of 70 mm under rotational grazing to obtain maximum sheep and cattle growth rates [1,4], but the effect of this management on the relative abundance of species in a mix of the herb species and clover species is not known.

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