Publication Date
1997
Description
The objective was to examine the effect of row position on cattle grazing preference. Grazing preference of eight tall fescues [Festuca arundinacea (Schreb.)] was evaluated by ocular preference scores at 30 hr (PS30) and 48 hr (PS48). Six rows of a cultivar—numbered consecutively within each plot from left to right—formed one plot. Rows 1&6 were on the outside edges of the plot and rows 3&4 were in the middle. Within a replication, rows 1 and 6 were adjacent to rows 6 and 1 of adjacent plots, respectively. During the first year, row position was not a significant effect. However, in the second year, preference for middle rows was significantly higher than the outer pairs of rows—rows 2&5 and 1&6. This could have been a result of the animals’ ability to distinguish preferred cultivars in the middle of the plot because of more distinct olfactory and visual cues. Row position was important in experimental design because of an interaction with animal behaviour.
Citation
Shewmaker, G E.; Mayland, H F.; and Hansen, S B., "Border Effects on Cattle Grazing Preference" (2024). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 8.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1997/session5/8
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Border Effects on Cattle Grazing Preference
The objective was to examine the effect of row position on cattle grazing preference. Grazing preference of eight tall fescues [Festuca arundinacea (Schreb.)] was evaluated by ocular preference scores at 30 hr (PS30) and 48 hr (PS48). Six rows of a cultivar—numbered consecutively within each plot from left to right—formed one plot. Rows 1&6 were on the outside edges of the plot and rows 3&4 were in the middle. Within a replication, rows 1 and 6 were adjacent to rows 6 and 1 of adjacent plots, respectively. During the first year, row position was not a significant effect. However, in the second year, preference for middle rows was significantly higher than the outer pairs of rows—rows 2&5 and 1&6. This could have been a result of the animals’ ability to distinguish preferred cultivars in the middle of the plot because of more distinct olfactory and visual cues. Row position was important in experimental design because of an interaction with animal behaviour.
