The effect of pasture species on parasitism and performance of lambs grazing one of three grass—white clover pasture swards

Abstract

Lamb parasitism and performance were compared on three pasture treatments: browntop/white clover, Yorkshire fog/white clover, and ryegrass/white clover swards maintained at a sward height of 5 cm in each of two years by using continuous variable stocking management. In year 1, lamb performance (both suppressively drenched (SD) and trigger drenched (TD)) was similar on ryegrass and browntop swards but was poorer ( P<0.05) on Yorkshire fog swards. In year 2, lamb performance (both SD and TD) was markedly better on ryegrass than on Yorkshire fog or browntop swards. This coincided with an increase in white clover content in the ryegrass/white clover swards and a decrease in white clover content in the browntop/white clover swards. Lamb performance was related to the white clover content of the swards ( R 2=85.4, P<0.001 and R 2=77.5, P<0.001 for SD lambs and TD lambs, respectively). Differences among pasture treatments in faecal egg count (FEC) of TD lambs were greater in year 2 than in year 1 when no significant pasture effects were observed. In year 2, FEC was lowest in lambs which grazed ryegrass/white clover, intermediate in those which grazed Yorkshire fog/white clover and highest in lambs which grazed browntop/white clover, despite herbage allowance (kg herbage mass/kg lamb mass) being greater on the browntop/white clover and Yorkshire fog/white clover swards than the ryegrass/white clover swards. Circulating antibodies to gastrointestinal parasites were measured at the end of year 2. Antibody titres were highest ( P<0.05) in the plasma of lambs which grazed ryegrass/white clover swards, and lowest in lambs which grazed browntop/white clover swards due to differences in levels of antibody to ( P<0.05) Haemonchus contortus, Ostertagia circumcincta larvae and adults, but not Trichostrongylus colubriformis larvae or adults. These findings indicate that pasture composition, especially, the proportion of white clover, can help alleviate the production losses due to gastrointestinal parasitism. This information can provide a quick and readily adoptable practice for farmers who aim to reduce drench reliance and could become a key component of any integrated parasite control programme.