Ertrag und Futterqualität bei Weide- und Schnittnutzung im ostalpinen Berggebiet

Summary

In this study, the impact of grazing in comparison to cutting on yield and forage feeding value at permanent grassland swards was investigated. A six-year trial (2007-
2012) was established at the Institute of Organic Farming of AREC Raumberg- Gumpenstein to test four types of permanent grassland uses (1: annual change between cutting and grazing; 2: four times cutting year-1; 3: cut of the first growth following grazing; 4: grazing). There were found no significant differences in the DM yield between the four variants. The significant highest crude protein yield (over 1,843 kg ha-1) was found in the grazing system. Energy concentration of grazed swards reached 7 MJ NEL kg-1 DM during spring and decreased to 6.2 MJ NEL kg-1 DM
during summer. Crude protein content increased to 229 g kg-1 DM until autumn.