Track 1-14: Implementing and Monitoring Management Strategies to Deal with Variability in Grasslands at Farm Level
Description
Japan has widely diverse climate conditions, from subtropical in the south to boreal in the north. In warm regions of the temperate zone in the south-west, such as low-lying areas of Kyushu Island, temperate grasses only barely survive during the summer (Area V in Fig. 1). Therefore, for year-round grazing, tropical grasses and temperate grasses have been used, respectively, for summer and winter (Fig. 2). Throughout Japan, grazing is limited for cows and their calves and fattening takes place in barns. Recently, as consumer preference for meat has diversified, the demand for lean meat with less fat from grazing cattle has been increasing. As the improved marbling and growth of Wagyu breeding demands high-value feed for fattening, grazing fattening of Wagyu also requires high-value feed. Currently, Italian ryegrass (IR; Lolium multiflorum Lam.) is used as high-value feed grass in the Southwest warm region in winter. IR presents the critical problem that feed value declines along with its ear emergence. Furthermore, the feed value of tropical grasses grown in summer is less than that of IR. Grazing cattle need more energy to cope with high temperatures of summer than they do for winter. Be-cause of these factors, intake of energy and weight gain rate decline in summer. To resolve these problems, a new pasture system is proposed to maintain high feed value throughout the year (Fig. 2): a group of cultivars of IR that grows well in winter should be sown in autumn. Then a type of winter habitat IR should be sown in early spring. In such cases, winter habitat IR sown after winter will not flower because it has not been vernalised by low temperatures. This IR exhibits superior re-growth and heat resistance. Therefore, this new system can help prevent a decline of feed value associated with ear emergence and also prolong the available period of IR.
This study investigated the effectiveness of the new system for extending the period of high feed value in IR.
Included in
Extending the Period of High Feed Value in Italian Ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) for Grazing in the Warm Temperate Zone of Japan
Japan has widely diverse climate conditions, from subtropical in the south to boreal in the north. In warm regions of the temperate zone in the south-west, such as low-lying areas of Kyushu Island, temperate grasses only barely survive during the summer (Area V in Fig. 1). Therefore, for year-round grazing, tropical grasses and temperate grasses have been used, respectively, for summer and winter (Fig. 2). Throughout Japan, grazing is limited for cows and their calves and fattening takes place in barns. Recently, as consumer preference for meat has diversified, the demand for lean meat with less fat from grazing cattle has been increasing. As the improved marbling and growth of Wagyu breeding demands high-value feed for fattening, grazing fattening of Wagyu also requires high-value feed. Currently, Italian ryegrass (IR; Lolium multiflorum Lam.) is used as high-value feed grass in the Southwest warm region in winter. IR presents the critical problem that feed value declines along with its ear emergence. Furthermore, the feed value of tropical grasses grown in summer is less than that of IR. Grazing cattle need more energy to cope with high temperatures of summer than they do for winter. Be-cause of these factors, intake of energy and weight gain rate decline in summer. To resolve these problems, a new pasture system is proposed to maintain high feed value throughout the year (Fig. 2): a group of cultivars of IR that grows well in winter should be sown in autumn. Then a type of winter habitat IR should be sown in early spring. In such cases, winter habitat IR sown after winter will not flower because it has not been vernalised by low temperatures. This IR exhibits superior re-growth and heat resistance. Therefore, this new system can help prevent a decline of feed value associated with ear emergence and also prolong the available period of IR.
This study investigated the effectiveness of the new system for extending the period of high feed value in IR.
