Abstract
Pastures that allow high lamb growth rates in late-spring and early summer are likely to facilitate an increase in production for meat-based livestock systems. This study compared the growth rates and final weights of White Dorper and crossbred lambs grazing six novel pastures over the mid to late-spring period.
Pasture treatments (0.4ha plots) were sown in April 2014 in a replicated complete block design. Pasture treatments included French serradella, bladder clover, forage brassica, lucerne, lucerne + phalaris and arrowleaf clover + chicory with the latter two treatments sown in 1:1 alternate sowing row (tyne) arrangement. Each plot was grazed by 13 lambs (mean starting weight 32.2 kg; five White Dorper (Dorper), five White Suffolk x Merino (WSM) and three White Suffolk x White Dorper (WSD); between 15 October and 2 December. Lambs were weighed weekly after an overnight curfew. Pasture pluck samples were taken weekly and nutritive value tested by NIR. Pastures were managed to ensure the amount of above-ground biomass did not limit intake of lambs.
Lambs grazing the lucerne + phalaris and French serradella pastures reached maximum liveweight on 18 November, lambs grazing bladder clover reached maximum weight on 26 November and lambs grazing forage brassica, chicory + arrowleaf clover and lucerne were still gaining weight at the conclusion of the experiment (2 December). Final liveweights were highest for lambs grazing the arrowleaf clover + chicory pasture (Dorper 43.7 kg, WSD 45.2 kg and WSM 44.0 kg).
Pasture treatments (0.4ha plots) were sown in April 2014 in a replicated complete block design. Pasture treatments included French serradella, bladder clover, forage brassica, lucerne, lucerne + phalaris and arrowleaf clover + chicory with the latter two treatments sown in 1:1 alternate sowing row (tyne) arrangement. Each plot was grazed by 13 lambs (mean starting weight 32.2 kg; five White Dorper (Dorper), five White Suffolk x Merino (WSM) and three White Suffolk x White Dorper (WSD); between 15 October and 2 December. Lambs were weighed weekly after an overnight curfew. Pasture pluck samples were taken weekly and nutritive value tested by NIR. Pastures were managed to ensure the amount of above-ground biomass did not limit intake of lambs.
Lambs grazing the lucerne + phalaris and French serradella pastures reached maximum liveweight on 18 November, lambs grazing bladder clover reached maximum weight on 26 November and lambs grazing forage brassica, chicory + arrowleaf clover and lucerne were still gaining weight at the conclusion of the experiment (2 December). Final liveweights were highest for lambs grazing the arrowleaf clover + chicory pasture (Dorper 43.7 kg, WSD 45.2 kg and WSM 44.0 kg).
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | 17th Proceedings of the Australian Agronomy Conference |
Place of Publication | Australia |
Publisher | Australian Society of Agronomy |
Pages | 1-4 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Event | 17th Australian Agronomy Conference - Wrest Point Convention Centre , Hobart, Australia Duration: 21 Sept 2015 → 24 Sept 2015 http://www.agronomyaustraliaproceedings.org/index.php/conference-2015-homepage |
Conference
Conference | 17th Australian Agronomy Conference |
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Abbreviated title | Building Productive, Diverse and Sustainable Landscapes |
Country/Territory | Australia |
City | Hobart |
Period | 21/09/15 → 24/09/15 |
Internet address |