THE USE OF LIVEWEIGHT-GAIN TRIALS FOR PASTURE EVALUATION IN THE TROPICS

An experiment is described in which liveweight gains were measured from two grass/legume pastures using small East African Zebu animals and also progeny of small East African Zebu cows crossed with Bos taurus bulls. Significantly higher production was obtained from cross-bred stock, which averaged 706 lb liveweight gain at per annum (791 kg/ha per annum), compared with 509 lb liveweight gain/ac per annum (571 kg/ha per annum) from Zebu stock, indicating that pasture management had advanced beyond the genetic potential of the local Zebu stock. The problems of designing, conducting and interpreting the results of such grazing trials are discussed.     

VARIATION IN SUMMER DORMANCY AMONG COLLECTIONS OF PHALARIS TUBEROSA AT DAVIS, CALIFORNIA

The summer-donnancy period among collections of Phalaris tuberosa L. from the eastern Mediterranean region when grown at Davis, California, ranged from 30 to 127 days. Plants from the more arid sites of origin tended to exhibit the longer dormancy. There were exceptions, however, and these, together with the diversity of behaviour in this material, suggest that genotypes with a potential for increased summer growth may be selected for use on rangelands.     

THE UTILIZATION OF GRASS FED INDOORS TO YOUNG BEEF CATTLE, WITH OR WITHOUT SUPPLEMENTARY BARLEY

An experiment was carried out in which grass was cut and fed indoors, with or without supplementary barley. Seven animals were allocated to each of the following treatments: (1) grass ad lib . without supplementary barley; (2) grass ad lib . with supplementary barley at the rate of 0.5 lb/100 lb bodyweight; (3) grass ad lib . with supplementary barley at the rate of 1 lb/100 lb bodyweight. Supplementary barley increased total dry-matter intake and improved daily liveweight gain and food conversion rate. The mean daily liveweight gains for the 17-week experimental period were 1.60, 1.91 and 2.20 lb and the corresponding feed dry-matter conversion ratios were 6.18, 5.67 and 5.55 for Treatments 1, 2 and 3, respectively.
The dry-matter digestibility of the diets was slightly higher when the grass was supplemented with barley than when grass alone was given. Although barley depressed the digestibility of protein, the absolute and the proportionate retention of nitrogen was increased. This was particularly marked on Treatment 3, presumably because of the higher net energy value of the diet containing the greater amount of barley. The N-retention data corresponded to the rates of liveweight gain obtained.     

EFFECTS OF METHOD OF ESTABLISHMENT ON TALL FESCUE AND ITALIAN RYEGRASS MIXTURES IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR

Tall fescue and Italian ryegrass mixtures react differently to management in the year of sowing. The decrease in yield of tall fescue and the increase in growth of red clover, caused by the use of a cover crop, was still evident in the following year. In both the spring grazing and total yield of the first harvest year, the Italian ryegrass/ white clover mixture was better than the tall fescue/white clover mixture when a cover crop was used. The reverse trend was recorded when the grass plus clover was sown without the cereal. In general, the addition of red clover to the tall fescue/ white clover, or Italian ryegrass/white clover mixture, increased the yield, but the magnitude of the increase was modified by management during establishment. The increase in total herbage yield and the reduction of white clover growth due to nitrogen application were both related to management in the year of sowing. Consideration should thus be given to method of establishment in the assessment of herbage seeds mixtures.     

DRYING AND CONDITIONING OF DIRECT–HARVESTED TIMOTHY SEED

An experiment is described in which S48 timothy seed, direct harvested at 3 stages of ripeness, was dried in layers 6 in. deep, at air temperatures from 75–135° F, immediately after harvest and after periods of from 1 to 3 days conditioning with cold air. Germination results for non-conditioned seed showed good agreement with those obtained in the previous year. The quality of seed hulled during threshing was inferior to that remaining unhulled after threshing, but the latter was more susceptible to high air temperature during drying. The relationship of the seed obtained in this experiment to commercial seed is discussed and a scheme for the practical application of the results will be presented in a subsequent paper.