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Methods of Management of a Bromegrass-Alfalfa Mixture¹

Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station

Abstract

Four degrees of grazing were used on bromegrass-alfalfa mixture pastures. These were heavy-continuous, moderate-continuous, moderate-alternate, and heavy-alternate utilization.

Soil on these paddocks was fertile and forage yields were high despite the method of pasture management. Although a system of heavy-continuous grazing is usually not advocated, during a short period of years the results obtained in this experiment indicated that livestock utilize the forage to better advantage than under moderate grazing management. Under the latter system, large quantities of forage are trampled by animals, and this causes smothering with subsequent spottiness of the grass cover. The heavier grazing may be best for pasture grown in a crop rotation.

Heavy-alternate systems of grazing, where rest periods for the pasture were used, provided the best utilization of the forage when it was most palatable and nutritious. This system gave bromegrass and alfalfa an opportunity to produce new growth during the growing season, something which was not possible under continuous grazing conditions.

¹ Contribution from the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, Urbana, Illinois. Published with the approval of the Director.

² Associate Professor, Crop Production; Head, Department of Agronomy; Professor of Sheep Husbandry, respectively.