Persistence of Grazing Tolerant Lucernes under Australian Conditions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33584/rps.15.2011.3201Abstract
Recent experiments have demonstrated that lucerne (Medicago sativa) varieties selected for grazing tolerance will persist far better when grazed for extended periods than varieties not selected for grazing tolerance. A field experiment, with lucerne varieties representing a range of winter activity ratings, was conducted at Ballarat. After 2.5 years of rotational grazing the experiment was continuously grazed for 173 days from late spring to early autumn at a stocking rate equivalent to 50 sheep/ha. This intensity is not considered much higher than some farmers would adopt during a drought. Ground cover of some varieties had significantly declined by the end of the grazing period but further decline occurred throughout the following winter months while livestock were excluded. The grazing tolerant lines persisted better than most standards, even those within the same dormancy category, with some standards almost completely dead while the grazing tolerant lines were over 60% alive. Keywords: grazing tolerance, lucerne (Medicago sativa), persistence
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