Winterbeweidung als Alternative zur Mulch- bzw. Schnittnutzung von Kleegrasschlägen [Winter grazing, an alternative to mulching or mowing of grass clover swards]

Summary

Literature shows that management factors like the type of defoliation and seed mixture have a strong influence on yield, forage quality and N2-fixation of grass clover mixtures. In comparison to harvesting, grazing is cheaper and for economical reasons a maximum grazing period is aimed. Grazing over winter time can cause irreparable damages to the pasture. This problem is of minor relevance for grass clover grown on arable land in its last production year, which it’s ploughed anyway in the following spring. This study compares different grass clover mixtures concerning yield, forage quality and suitability for winter grazing.
Grass clover swards varying with respect to the following experimental factors: I. com-panion grass species (perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) vs tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea)) and II. legume species (a. white clover (Trifolium repens), b. red clover (Trifolium pratense) and c. alfalfa (Medicago sativa)) were established for comparison. Tall fescue effected higher total dry matter yields than perennial ryegrass. White clover reached the highest crude protein and energy contents of all tested species. In contrast to this, swards with red clover and alfalfa, showing also the highest sward legume contents, reached higher dry matter and nitrogen yields
Plots grazed in different periods over winter showed a clear loss of grazable matter. The highest losses of dry matter which also was coupled with a remarkable decrease in crude protein and energy content was observed in mixtures with alfalfa.