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IF \oon NEW MEXICO COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC ARTS AND AO-STCULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Press Bulletin 1007 THE ABILITY OF CERTAIN LEGUME-GRASS MIXTURES TO WITHSTAND GRAZING Most dairymen throughout the United States believe that pasture is essential for profitable dairying. This belief is, supported by the knowledge that growing plants supply certain essential nutritive values that are difficult and always expensive to obtain in other feedstuffs. Furthermore, pasturing may be the most economical method of harvesting a crop, thereby reducing the dairyman's feed costs. Under certain conditions the economy of pasturing depends mainly upon the cost of producing feed. This is especially true wherever the pasture land is arable and can be used for other purposes. For example, in many parts of New Mexico the cost of preparing the soil, seeding, and irrigating will be nearly as great for producing pasture forage as for many other crops. In these areas permanent pastures would reduce the cost of soil preparation and seeding by eliminating annual seeding, but careful selection of the forage crop is necessary to obtain a high yield that would further increase the economy of producing pasture forage. Legumes, such as alfalfa or clover, usually produce higher yields than any of the grasses but they present the hazard of occasionally bloating the animals. Growing grasses with legumes has been suggested as a means of reducing the probability of bloat. This would necessitate a grass that grows well in the hot months. Furthermore, the use of "cool season" grasses should lengtheh the pasture season by providing forage early and late in the season when the legume is making less rapid growth. These assumptions formed the basis for trials of legume and legume-grass mixtures in permanent pastures' at the New Mexico Experiment Station. Four 1-acre plots having fairly rich, medium-heavy adobe soil were used. One plot was planted with 15 pounds of alfalfa, one with 6 pounds of ladino clover, one with 5 pounds of alfalfa in a grass mixture, and the fourth with 4 pounds of ladino clover in a grass mixture. The grass mixture consisted of 3 pounds African lovegrass, 4 pounds switch- grass, 3 pounds perennial ryegrass, 3 pounds orchardgrass, 4 pounds Dallisgrass, and 3 pounds alta fescue. These plots were planted in late October 1942, and fairly good stands of each were obtained. The plots have been irrigated and pastured through two seasons, and clipped only occasionally to control the growth of weeds. Ho fertilizing other than that obtained while pasturing, and no cultivation has been practiced. The legume-grass mixtures and the clover made fairly firm sod, but it was thought desirable to remove the animals whenever the ground was moist enough that their hoofs would disturb the plant roots. This procedure allowed the forage to attain considerable growth between pasture periods, although it seldom reached the early b]com stage which is desired in the harvest method of pasturing. Throughout 5 months of pasture season, both the alfalfa and ladino clover plots have afforded good pasture with a carrying capacity equivalent to approximately one and one-half cows per acre. In addition to this, the clover plot has afforded a small amount of pasture for two to four yearling heifers during the winter months. These yearling heifers also had access to dry hay and a little grain, but did obtain from the clover sufficient feed to be apparent in the general appearance of the animals. The clover also started growing early in the spring, allowing very light grazing during March and April before the other plots could be pastured. The plot consisting of clover and grasses afforded approximately the same amount of pasture as either the clover or the alfalfa plot during the usual 5-month season. The proportion of clover stand has increased very materially while alta fescue and
Object Description
Title | The ability of certain legume-grass mixtures to withstand grazing |
Series Designation | Press bulletin 1007 |
Description | Press bulletin containing information on trials to determine the resiliency of different combinations of legumes and grass as pasture forage. |
Subject | Grazing; grazing (NAL); pasture plants (NAL); Range plants; |
Creator | Nelson, D. H. (Daniel Horace), 1898-; |
Date Original | 1945-08-01 |
Digital Publisher | New Mexico State University Library |
Rights | Copyright, NMSU Board of Regents. |
Collection | NMSU Cooperative Extension Service and Agricultural Experiment Station Publications |
Source | Scan produced from physical item held by the NMSU Library. |
Type | Text |
Format | image/tiff |
Language | eng |
Page Description
Title | Page 1 |
Series Designation | Press bulletin 1007 |
Subject | Grazing; grazing (NAL); pasture plants (NAL); Range plants; |
Creator | Nelson, D. H. (Daniel Horace), 1898-; |
Date Original | 1945-08-01 |
Digital Publisher | New Mexico State University Library |
Rights | Copyright, NMSU Board of Regents. |
Collection | NMSU Cooperative Extension Service and Agricultural Experiment Station Publications |
Digital Identifier | UAAPp001007_001 |
Is Part Of | The ability of certain legume-grass mixtures to withstand grazing |
Source | Scan produced from physical item held by the NMSU Library. |
Type | Text |
Format | image/tiff |
Language | eng |
OCR | IF \oon NEW MEXICO COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC ARTS AND AO-STCULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Press Bulletin 1007 THE ABILITY OF CERTAIN LEGUME-GRASS MIXTURES TO WITHSTAND GRAZING Most dairymen throughout the United States believe that pasture is essential for profitable dairying. This belief is, supported by the knowledge that growing plants supply certain essential nutritive values that are difficult and always expensive to obtain in other feedstuffs. Furthermore, pasturing may be the most economical method of harvesting a crop, thereby reducing the dairyman's feed costs. Under certain conditions the economy of pasturing depends mainly upon the cost of producing feed. This is especially true wherever the pasture land is arable and can be used for other purposes. For example, in many parts of New Mexico the cost of preparing the soil, seeding, and irrigating will be nearly as great for producing pasture forage as for many other crops. In these areas permanent pastures would reduce the cost of soil preparation and seeding by eliminating annual seeding, but careful selection of the forage crop is necessary to obtain a high yield that would further increase the economy of producing pasture forage. Legumes, such as alfalfa or clover, usually produce higher yields than any of the grasses but they present the hazard of occasionally bloating the animals. Growing grasses with legumes has been suggested as a means of reducing the probability of bloat. This would necessitate a grass that grows well in the hot months. Furthermore, the use of "cool season" grasses should lengtheh the pasture season by providing forage early and late in the season when the legume is making less rapid growth. These assumptions formed the basis for trials of legume and legume-grass mixtures in permanent pastures' at the New Mexico Experiment Station. Four 1-acre plots having fairly rich, medium-heavy adobe soil were used. One plot was planted with 15 pounds of alfalfa, one with 6 pounds of ladino clover, one with 5 pounds of alfalfa in a grass mixture, and the fourth with 4 pounds of ladino clover in a grass mixture. The grass mixture consisted of 3 pounds African lovegrass, 4 pounds switch- grass, 3 pounds perennial ryegrass, 3 pounds orchardgrass, 4 pounds Dallisgrass, and 3 pounds alta fescue. These plots were planted in late October 1942, and fairly good stands of each were obtained. The plots have been irrigated and pastured through two seasons, and clipped only occasionally to control the growth of weeds. Ho fertilizing other than that obtained while pasturing, and no cultivation has been practiced. The legume-grass mixtures and the clover made fairly firm sod, but it was thought desirable to remove the animals whenever the ground was moist enough that their hoofs would disturb the plant roots. This procedure allowed the forage to attain considerable growth between pasture periods, although it seldom reached the early b]com stage which is desired in the harvest method of pasturing. Throughout 5 months of pasture season, both the alfalfa and ladino clover plots have afforded good pasture with a carrying capacity equivalent to approximately one and one-half cows per acre. In addition to this, the clover plot has afforded a small amount of pasture for two to four yearling heifers during the winter months. These yearling heifers also had access to dry hay and a little grain, but did obtain from the clover sufficient feed to be apparent in the general appearance of the animals. The clover also started growing early in the spring, allowing very light grazing during March and April before the other plots could be pastured. The plot consisting of clover and grasses afforded approximately the same amount of pasture as either the clover or the alfalfa plot during the usual 5-month season. The proportion of clover stand has increased very materially while alta fescue and |