Description
Legume-grass mixtures may be a useful alternative to nitrogen-fertilized grass monocultures, but pasture and animal responses have not been assessed for pastures grazed by horses in Florida. This 2-yr study compared pasture and horse responses of continuously stocked, mixed pastures of rhizoma peanut (RP, Arachis glabrata Benth) and bahiagrass (BG, Paspalum notatum Flüggé) receiving 30 kg nitrogen (N)/ha (RP-BG) compared with BG pastures fertilized with 120 kg/N ha (BG-N) or with no N (BG-No N). Herbage mass was similar among treatments in 2020 and for most evaluation days in 2019. In 2019, stocking rate (AU/ha) was greater in BG-N (3.9) than in RP-BG (3.7) and BG-No N (3.1). In 2020, BG-No N (2.6) had the lesser stocking rate compared with BG-N (2.9) and RP-BG (2.9), with RP-BG not differing from BG-N. Herbage crude protein (CP) and digestible energy were similar across treatments in 2020, but they were greater for BG-N and RP-BG than BG-No N at some evaluation days in 2019. Except for CP, treatment did not affect nutrient digestibility by horses. Digestibility of CP was greatest for RP-BG in the late season. In the RP-BG treatment, proportion of RP in the pasture (~29%) was not affected by sampling date, and RP comprised 18.4% of the diet. Nonetheless, no differences were observed among treatments for body weight and condition score. The results indicate that intercropping legumes into warm-season perennial pastures can improve some measures of nutritive value and maintain horses’ body condition with similar stocking rate as N-fertilized bahiagrass pastures, while contributing to development of sustainable grazing systems for horses with reduced off-farm nitrogen inputs.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Herbage Responses and Performance of Mature Horses Grazing Warm-Season Perennial Grass-Legume Mixed Pastures
Legume-grass mixtures may be a useful alternative to nitrogen-fertilized grass monocultures, but pasture and animal responses have not been assessed for pastures grazed by horses in Florida. This 2-yr study compared pasture and horse responses of continuously stocked, mixed pastures of rhizoma peanut (RP, Arachis glabrata Benth) and bahiagrass (BG, Paspalum notatum Flüggé) receiving 30 kg nitrogen (N)/ha (RP-BG) compared with BG pastures fertilized with 120 kg/N ha (BG-N) or with no N (BG-No N). Herbage mass was similar among treatments in 2020 and for most evaluation days in 2019. In 2019, stocking rate (AU/ha) was greater in BG-N (3.9) than in RP-BG (3.7) and BG-No N (3.1). In 2020, BG-No N (2.6) had the lesser stocking rate compared with BG-N (2.9) and RP-BG (2.9), with RP-BG not differing from BG-N. Herbage crude protein (CP) and digestible energy were similar across treatments in 2020, but they were greater for BG-N and RP-BG than BG-No N at some evaluation days in 2019. Except for CP, treatment did not affect nutrient digestibility by horses. Digestibility of CP was greatest for RP-BG in the late season. In the RP-BG treatment, proportion of RP in the pasture (~29%) was not affected by sampling date, and RP comprised 18.4% of the diet. Nonetheless, no differences were observed among treatments for body weight and condition score. The results indicate that intercropping legumes into warm-season perennial pastures can improve some measures of nutritive value and maintain horses’ body condition with similar stocking rate as N-fertilized bahiagrass pastures, while contributing to development of sustainable grazing systems for horses with reduced off-farm nitrogen inputs.
