Publication Date
1989
Description
New Zealand and Wales have temperate climates suitable for ryegrass (Lolium species) and white clover (Trifolium repens) pasture. However, pasture management in New Zealand and Wales in fundamentally different. New Zealand pastures are grazed all year, whereas in Wales pastures are mostly not grazed in winter. Moreover New Zealand pastures mostly rely on nitrogen fixed by legumes, whereas nitrogen fertiliser is commonly applied to Welsh pastures. To consider the basis of differences of pasture management in New Zealand and Wales, data from field experiments at Aberystwyth, Wales (Lat. 52°25'N) and Palmerston North, New Zealand (Lat. 40°20'S) are compared. (Harris and Thomas 1973, Harris et al., 1983). The reports of these experiments do not present seasonal distribution of growth of species components of the pastures compared. In theory more_ even and more production should be obtained by growing mixtures but there are few field observations which confirm this (Snaydon, 1987). In New Zealand complementary seasonality of grass and clover growth resulted in mixtures yielding more than either species alone (Harris and Hoglund, 1980).
Citation
Harris, W and Rhodes, I, "Comparison of Ryegrass-White Clover and Competitive Interactions in New Zealand and Wales" (2025). IGC Proceedings (1989-2023). 40.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1989/session4b/40
Included in
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Comparison of Ryegrass-White Clover and Competitive Interactions in New Zealand and Wales
New Zealand and Wales have temperate climates suitable for ryegrass (Lolium species) and white clover (Trifolium repens) pasture. However, pasture management in New Zealand and Wales in fundamentally different. New Zealand pastures are grazed all year, whereas in Wales pastures are mostly not grazed in winter. Moreover New Zealand pastures mostly rely on nitrogen fixed by legumes, whereas nitrogen fertiliser is commonly applied to Welsh pastures. To consider the basis of differences of pasture management in New Zealand and Wales, data from field experiments at Aberystwyth, Wales (Lat. 52°25'N) and Palmerston North, New Zealand (Lat. 40°20'S) are compared. (Harris and Thomas 1973, Harris et al., 1983). The reports of these experiments do not present seasonal distribution of growth of species components of the pastures compared. In theory more_ even and more production should be obtained by growing mixtures but there are few field observations which confirm this (Snaydon, 1987). In New Zealand complementary seasonality of grass and clover growth resulted in mixtures yielding more than either species alone (Harris and Hoglund, 1980).
