The effects of grazing management on perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) herbage mass and persistence in south-eastern Australia

Abstract

The effect of various grazing management treatments on newly sown and degraded perennial ryegrass pastures was studied at 6 different locations in the temperate high rainfall zone of southern Australia, as part of the Temperate Pasture Sustainability Key Program. The sites were located at Hamilton (2 sites, 1 grazed by cattle, 1 grazed by sheep) and Cavendish, western Victoria, Victor Harbor (Delamere), South Australia, and Ross and Parattah in Tasmania. Grazing management treatments significantly influenced the ryegrass mass and persistence of the pasture, but effects were not always consistent across sites. Autumn closure increased the perennial ryegrass content at Cavendish and Ross, as did the winter and summer closures at Ross. Spring closure increased the perennialryegrass content at Hamilton, Cavendish and Ross, but decreased it at Parattah, as did the summer closures at Parattah and Delamere. Fodder conservation decreased the ryegrass only at Parattah. At the Hamilton sheep site, and at Ross, mob stocking increased the ryegrass content, as did increased superphosphate treatments at Hamilton. Rotational grazing at Cavendish and Delamere increased the ryegrass content, as did the late spring or a late summer closure with a short autumn deferment at Cavendish and Ross, but both these treatments decreased ryegrass at Parattah. The treatments that had a negative effect at Parattah may have had a positive effect on cocksfoot at that site, creating competition for, and decreasing the ryegrass content. At most sites, treatments that included some spelling during spring to foster seed shedding, and spelling again in the following autumn to encourage germination seem to have been of benefit to the perennial ryegrass.