Presenter Information

M Duru, INRA

Publication Date

1985

Location

Kyoto Japan

Description

In the Central Pyrenees, winter and early spring growth of permanent meadows provides available feed for flocks. Therefore, we studied the main factors of variation of this growth (soil fertility level, nitrogen fertilization, climate, ... ) to improve pasture availability. During three winters and springs, we measured the growth on three plots of different fertility level (0.108 % - 0.045 % - 0.018 % P205 Dyer) at an altitude of 1250 m. We set a value on growth by measuring cumulated dry matter every three weeks (or less often it there was snow) from November to April. The harvested dry matter varied from 800 to 3000 kg DM/ha. On the high fertility level, the relationship between dry matter and temperature is very different at the end of the winter than at the beginning. It is similar at the lower fertility level. For the high fertility level, nitrogen fertilization increases the growth rate of 50%.

In early spring, we observed that the growth rate of 30 kg DM/ha/day is reached at very different dates with a sixty days. variation in some cases. Hence, improvement of the soil fertility level is the best way to obtain a longer spring grazing. But, in the case of high fertility level and for difficult wintering ( deficiency hay stocks, ... ) , nitrogen fertilization allows to regularize the interannual variations of winter severity.

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Winter and Spring Growth Variability of Grazed Permanent Meadow: The Case of the Pyrenees Mountains

Kyoto Japan

In the Central Pyrenees, winter and early spring growth of permanent meadows provides available feed for flocks. Therefore, we studied the main factors of variation of this growth (soil fertility level, nitrogen fertilization, climate, ... ) to improve pasture availability. During three winters and springs, we measured the growth on three plots of different fertility level (0.108 % - 0.045 % - 0.018 % P205 Dyer) at an altitude of 1250 m. We set a value on growth by measuring cumulated dry matter every three weeks (or less often it there was snow) from November to April. The harvested dry matter varied from 800 to 3000 kg DM/ha. On the high fertility level, the relationship between dry matter and temperature is very different at the end of the winter than at the beginning. It is similar at the lower fertility level. For the high fertility level, nitrogen fertilization increases the growth rate of 50%.

In early spring, we observed that the growth rate of 30 kg DM/ha/day is reached at very different dates with a sixty days. variation in some cases. Hence, improvement of the soil fertility level is the best way to obtain a longer spring grazing. But, in the case of high fertility level and for difficult wintering ( deficiency hay stocks, ... ) , nitrogen fertilization allows to regularize the interannual variations of winter severity.