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Publication Date

1981

Description

The effect of three different utilization patterns upon the productivity and botanical composition of typical natural pasture was studied during a year of growth. The trial consisted of cutting the swards of three plots of a natural pasture in a humid zone in the south of Chile when they reached an average height of 20 cm, leaving only a height of 5 cm. This process was carried out in three plots of 20 x 20 musing the following methods: plot 1, harvesting with bovines; plot 2, mechanized harvesting with a mower; plot 3, not harvested but sampled each time from the forage accumulated from the start of the trial. The botanical com­position and other characteristics when starting the experiment were, in plots 1, 2, and 3, respectively: Lolium spp., 16.4 % , 12.7%, 14.8%; Dactylis glomerata, 24.0%, 23.6%, 18.1%; Anthoxanthum odoratum, 0.7%, 4.3%, 6.2%; other grass spp., 2.1 %, 2.3%, 1.9%; Trifolium spp., 4.5%, 2.7%, 7.4%; wide leaf spp., 12.9%, 7.7%, 8.9%; organic matter, 31.4%, 35.9%, 37.0%; and bare soil, 8.0%, 10.8%, 5.7%. Unimportant variations in botanical composition were observed. Annual dry-matter yields were 10,442, 10,147, and 9, 184 kg/ha in plots 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The results suggest that pastures with several species and with a high homeostatis and stability grade can be utilized by dif­ferent methods without affecting significantly the pasture performance in an annual growing period. This capacity is very im­portant for farmers of these zones who must change management according to seasonal, environmental, and economic condi­tions.

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Productivity and Botanical Composition Response of a Stabilized Pasture to Different Utilization Patterns

The effect of three different utilization patterns upon the productivity and botanical composition of typical natural pasture was studied during a year of growth. The trial consisted of cutting the swards of three plots of a natural pasture in a humid zone in the south of Chile when they reached an average height of 20 cm, leaving only a height of 5 cm. This process was carried out in three plots of 20 x 20 musing the following methods: plot 1, harvesting with bovines; plot 2, mechanized harvesting with a mower; plot 3, not harvested but sampled each time from the forage accumulated from the start of the trial. The botanical com­position and other characteristics when starting the experiment were, in plots 1, 2, and 3, respectively: Lolium spp., 16.4 % , 12.7%, 14.8%; Dactylis glomerata, 24.0%, 23.6%, 18.1%; Anthoxanthum odoratum, 0.7%, 4.3%, 6.2%; other grass spp., 2.1 %, 2.3%, 1.9%; Trifolium spp., 4.5%, 2.7%, 7.4%; wide leaf spp., 12.9%, 7.7%, 8.9%; organic matter, 31.4%, 35.9%, 37.0%; and bare soil, 8.0%, 10.8%, 5.7%. Unimportant variations in botanical composition were observed. Annual dry-matter yields were 10,442, 10,147, and 9, 184 kg/ha in plots 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The results suggest that pastures with several species and with a high homeostatis and stability grade can be utilized by dif­ferent methods without affecting significantly the pasture performance in an annual growing period. This capacity is very im­portant for farmers of these zones who must change management according to seasonal, environmental, and economic condi­tions.