ALBERT

Notizen: A study has been made of the flowering requirements, for temperature and photoperiod, of a range of timothy strains, including American, British and Scandinavian material.All the strains tested are long-day in their photoperiodic responses, and there is no “winter requirement” for low temperature (0–5°C.) or short days before flowering. There is, however, an inhibitory effect of high temperature in the greenhouse on flower formation, lf the temperature is too high, no heads are produced, although photoperiod may be adequate. Instead elongated indeterminate shoots are formed which often become stoloniferous.The effect of high temperature varies with the strain, and appears to be related to the May temperature of the region of origin. Under greenhouse temperatures of 55–65°F. American and Canadian commercial strains show little inhibition of flowering, but many plants of the Scandinavian strains fail to produce heads. The British hay strains show intermediate heading behaviour, but only an occasional plant of the diploid S.50 formed heads under these conditions.

Notizen: Heading behaviour of eight strains of timothy was observed in the sowing and first harvest years, after sowing on a series of dates between March and August.All strains produced heads in the sowing year. Only a very few plants failed to head when sown between 18 March and 29 April. With subsequent sowing dates the proportion of heading plants progressively declined, most markedly in S.50 Phleum nodosum, least in the early-heading P. pratense strains. No heading occurred in the sowing year after the mid-August sowing.The environment to which the later sowings are exposed differs from that of the earlier sown lots in that (a) the initial temperatures and daylengths are higher and (b) the decline in daylength occurs earlier in their development. One or both of these factors must be responsible for failure of heading among plants of the later sowings.The sequence of heading dates among the strains in the sowing year differed considerably from that in the same plants after overwintering, suggesting the action of some factor other than photo-period in determining heading date in the sowing year.Variability in heading date within the strains was much greater in the sowing year than after overwintering, and increased with lateness of sowing.

Notizen: Experiments are described in which a study was made of the top growth, root weight, nodule number, and type of nodules of white clover growing in a grass sward in the field. Soil cores were taken and the clover root-system examined after removal of soil by washing.The most important factor governing the total number of nodules and the number of large (2 mm. or more in length) nodules under the sward was the amount of clover root-material present.Nitrogenous fertilisers and the return of dung and urine by grazing sheep reduced the amount of clover root-weight and consequently the number of nodules found under the pasture. 36 1b. of nitrogen applied in the early spring of 1956 had a beneficial effect on both clover top-growth and nodulation. 80–100 1b. of nitrogen per acre had no effect on the number of nodules per gram of root. However, the application of 200 1b. of nitrogen per acre caused a significant decrease in the number of large nodules per gram of root.The numbers of large nodules present reached a midsummer peak where nitrogen was not applied.During the autumn many nodules showed part green and part pink colouration or were completely green or brown, an indication of a decline in nitrogen-fixing ability. Decaying nodules increased considerably in number when the legume was being suppressed by nitrogen application and top growth was poor. The practical application of these results is discussed and methods of maximising the benefit from clover and fertiliser nitrogen are suggested.

Notizen: A trial is described which was designed to test the hypothesis that measurements taken of the leaf-plus-shoot length of spaced plants may give a good indication of dry-matter yield of strains of Dactylis glomerata, as determined by cutting and weighing the produce of sward plots.Two contrasting strains of Dactylis glomerata were used: the British S.143, and the German von Kamekes. The strains were established during 1955 both as spaced plants (10 plants per plot) and as pure swards, with six replications of each. The two methods of establishment formed the main treatments, occupying whole plots, and each plot was divided into four sub-plots each of which carried one of the combinations of the two strains with the following two management treatments: Treatment 1, cut at monthly intervals from 27 April to 23 August; Treatment 2, cut on 12 April and subsequently at the mean date of emergence of the inflorescence for each strain, followed by cutting at monthly intervals until the end of August.Spaced plants were measured before cutting by thrusting a measuring rod into the crown of the plant and measuring the leaf-plus-shoot length of one of the longer shoots. Produce cut from sward plots was weighed and sampled for dry-matter content.Results from the swards showed that von Kamekes produced more dry matter in early spring, but that subsequently the advantage passed to S.143.Significant positive correlations were obtained in early spring between the sward yields and leaf-plus-shoot measurements from spaced plants. Subsequently there was no agreement between the two methods, and some significant negative correlations were obtained.The data are discussed in relation to the physiological stages of development of the strains, which suggests that:〈list xml:id="l1" style="custom"〉(a) In the spring period the main factor contributing to yield was shoot elongation, with the majority of the tillers in the reproductive phase.(b) In summer the main factor was new tiller formation, with the majority of tillers in the vegetative phase.(c) In the early autumn neither factor was dominant and both contributed to yield.Attention is drawn to the danger of comparing yields from spaced plants with yields from swards where the management may influence the results obtained, and to the difficulty of assessing hay yields by means of height measurements of spaced plants.

Notizen: An experimental silo unit consisting of four silos, each capable of holding 1000 kg. fresh grass, is described. The silos are suspended from a weighing apparatus enabling weight recordings to be taken at all stages during ensilage. The weighing apparatus is sufficiently sensitive to record a change in weight in the silo and contents of 100 grams.

Notizen: Foggage grazing trials with beef-store cattle and in-calf dairy heifers during four successive winters in Aberdeenshire are described. Many of the animals received only very small quantities of supplementary fodders, but their performance was satisfactory in all cases. During the last two winters, silage and oat straw contributed 40–50% of total food dry-matter intake. It is suggested that this level of supplementary feeding would be satisfactory in practice.In a comparison of store-feeding systems, four in-wintered (housed) steers were 110 1b. per head heavier than their out-wintered monozygous twins at the end of the winter-feeding period. Live-weight differences averaged 27 1b. per head one month later and were negligible at the end of summer. From the results of a metabolism trial it was concluded that the spring weight-loss suffered by the housed cattle was due mainly to a reduction in the weight of gut contents.

Notizen: Yields were recorded from a potato crop grown in the first year following a grazing trial comparing four strains of white clover, previously described in this journal (2 & 3). The Kent clover strain, which was the most persistent and which had produced the greatest live-weight increase per acre, gave the highest yield of potatoes. The Dutch white clover, which had been the poorest in the grassland trial, gave the lowest yield of potatoes.A 2 × 2 × 2 N, P, K fertilizer design was superimposed in the form of split plots. Nitro-chalk at 5 cwt. per acre and muriate of potash at 2 cwt. per acre both caused significant reductions in yield, and this was thought to be due to the exceptionally high soil fertility status of the field. The fertilizer × clover interactions were non-significant, and contributed little towards an explanation of the fundamental basis of the soil fertility differences caused by these four clover strains.

Notizen: The vigour of perennial ryegrass and cocksfoot after spraying with the sodium salt of MCPA during establishment was estimated from their yields in small-plot cutting experiments on weedy land. Where the weed yields of control plots was of the order of a ton of air-dry matter an acre (mostly Spergula arvensis L.), spraying at up to 1·2 1b. acid equivalent an acre caused twofold to threefold increases in grass yields. The optimum time to spray perennial ryegrass was at the three- to four-leaf stage or 26 days after sowing; for cocksfoot, which appeared more susceptible to the herbicide, spraying at the tillering stage, or about 40 days after sowing, was best. Increasing the seed rates of ryegrass produced transitory increases in yields while decreasing weed yields. Increasing phosphate or nitrogen caused decreases in weed yields. Although the former gave a large increase in weed yield in the first cut this was offset by a large decrease in the second cut. There was an indication that the level of nitrogenous manuring affected the toxicity of the herbicide to the grasses.

Notizen: Book reviewed in this article:WHEELER, W. A. and HILL, D. D. Grassland seeds.

Notizen: This paper deals with the second three years (April 1954 to March 1957) of a grazing-management trial in the form of a pilot farm. The whole area of 35.5 acres was run as a self-contained unit with the object of providing grazing for as long a period of the year as possible. A system of rotational grazing was used throughout with strip- and fold-grazing at certain seasons. Excess herbage was conserved as silage and hay and fed back to stock during the winter. Beef-type steers and ewes and lambs grazed the pastures, the saleable products being fat cattle, lambs and wool. Results are presented and discussed in relation to stock numbers, animal health, herbage production and botanical composition, fertilizer application and the levels of production achieved. Over-all average fertilizer dressings per acre for the three years were equivalent to 5 cwt. per acre nitro-chalk, 2 cwt. per acre superphosphate and 1 cwt. per acre muriate of potash. The outputs of utilised starch equivalent in 1954–5, 1955–6 and 1956–7 were 2970, 2850 and 2280 1b. per acre, respectively. On the basis of the six years' results it is concluded that high production can be achieved from a system where the object is an extended grazing season; that broadcast leys can be used for winter grazing and the botanical composition of the sward maintained; that self-fed silage can be a satisfactory feed for fattening cattle; that a grazing plan is a valuable guide to management; and that the pilot-farm method is of value for certain agronomic experiments.

Notizen: Utilised grass production on ten small farms in North County Dublin has been estimated using (A) the method adopted by the British Grassland Society Sub-Committee on the assessment and recording of the utilised output of grassland, and (B) a live-weight increase method using Woodman's figures.At the beginning of the grazing season all the grazing animals on each farm were weighed. At the same time the records for method A were begun. Altogether 169 animals and 12 sheep were weighed during March-April. Animals sold during the period of investigation were weighed, where possible.The results obtained using the two methods have been compared. Average percentage difference on ten observations was 11.3%, with a variation of ± 3.7%. On farms 1–5, where only mature stock were kept, the percentage difference was 9.9%± 2.2%. On farms 6–10, where animals of all categories were grazed, the percentage difference averaged 12.8%± 2.2%. In all cases the live-weight-increase method gave the higher estimated yield.The techniques used in the estimation of utilised grassland production are discussed. Total output varied between 26.5 cwt. and 9.0 cwt. of utilised S.E. per acre. The significance of the findings is discussed and the value of the methods used is considered.

Notizen: A leafy strain of timothy and of perennial ryegrass showed no significant reductions in seed yields following grazing at different dates from October to January, when extra nitrogen was applied.Spring and winter + spring grazing, together with extra nitrogen, significantly reduced the seed yield of S50 timothy for three successive harvest years.Perennial ryegrass S101 showed no reduction after spring or winter + spring grazing when defoliation was made not later than mid-April, but when grazing was delayed until May and drought occurred there was a significant reduction in seed yield.

Notizen: Messrs. A. W. Montgomerie and Sons of Lessnessock, Ayrshire, manage their grassland so as to encourage full development of white clover. The method is an adaptation of the system followed in New Zealand. The results are that production in terms of stock output is high, reaching a utilised starch equivalent of 23 cwt. per acre.

Notizen: The differences in soil fertility in a ley as a result of treatments applied for four years in a sheep-grazing trial were measured by growing crops of wheat and kale. The pasture treatments had been: control, dung, urine and dung plus urine, each combined with four levels of fertilizer nitrogen.Yields of winter wheat harvested in 1956 ranged from 27.1 to 38.6 cwt. per acre. Plots to which faeces had been allowed to return during the pasture phase outyielded (p 〈0.001) those from which it was withheld. Urine was relatively ineffective except in combination with nitrogen. In the absence of animal returns, nitrogenous fertilizer depressed grain and straw yields. A top-dressing of K applied to the wheat in spring as a sub-treatment had no significant effect. The percentages of N and K in the grain were unaffected by the former pasture treatments, or by the K top-dressing.A subsidiary small-plot experiment in which the above pasture treatments had been combined with P and K, each at two levels, was cropped with marrow-stem kale. In general, N applied to the pasture increased kale yields except where dung and urine had been withheld. Neither P nor K had a significant effect, except when combined. The leaf/stem ratio of the kale was reduced by applied N and by P (both p 〈0.05).The pasture/arable-crop relationship is considered.

Notizen: A series of six trials with eight strains of perennial ryegrass at two levels of manuring has now been completed. Results indicate that a moderate application of artificial manures gives a high degree of control over Gloeotinia temulenta infection. The degree of infection may be influenced by climatic conditions. Each strain has a definite inherent susceptibility or resistance to the disease. The most resistant strains are the commercial strains Irish Commercial and Devon Eaver; S24 is the most susceptible, followed by New Zealand Certified Mother Seed.

Notizen: Four strains of Phleum pratense L., and one strain of Lolium perenne L., all of foreign origin, are classified by comparison with established strains on the basis of their performance in a spaced-plant trial in Scotland in 1955.

Notizen: Review in this article:GRASSLAND RESEARCH INSTITUTE. Experiments in Progress, No. 10. Annual report for 1956–7. Hurley, Berks.

Notizen: It seems to me that during the next 20 years:〈list xml:id="l1" style="custom"〉(a)grass as a feed will increasingly over-shadow grass as a break in tillage cropping or as a fertility builder(b)the current rapid progress in biochemistry, plant physiology, radiation biology and the physical sciences may revolutionise our knowledge of applied ecology and genetics(c)as a result of such research, scientific principles will replace much of the present patchwork of empirical husbandry knowledge(d)these developments, plus forthcoming changes in labour costs and in grazing, harvesting and conservation techniques will call for a drastic re-appraisal of much of our current thinking and practice in sward establishment and management; this will involve more applied ecological research(e)the scientist's laboratory and the engineer's workshop will become more important in grassland research whilst husbandry experiments will increasingly depend on scientific instrumentation.

Notizen: The Aberystwyth district experienced exceptionally cold winter weather in 1954, 1955 and 1956, especially during the period from the end of January to early March. Its effect on the grasses, both in the single-plant nurseries and in the agronomic experimental areas, is briefly described.It was observed that plants which entered the winter carrying a bulk of herbage in a winter-proud condition were at a disadvantage compared with those which had been reasonably grazed or cut back during the autumn. The younger plants were found to be better able than the older ones to withstand extreme conditions.Suggestions are made as to how some simple-mixture swards can be managed so as to be reasonably likely to provide keep in situ during the difficult months December to April. The species under consideration are cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata), timothy (Phleum pratense and P. nodosum), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perernne) and Italian ryegrass (L. italicum).

Notizen: A small-plot trial comparing perennial ryegrass, cocksfoot, timothy and meadow fescue sown broadcast and also in 21 inch rows was conducted at Auchincruive from 1954 to 1957. The cutting treatments were arranged so that measurement could be made of both summer and winter production.Of the four species, cocksfoot was the most suitable for foggage production. Perennial ryegrass suffered severely from winter killing. Timothy and meadow fescue, although persistent, did not yield as much as cocksfoot.Total dry-matter production over three years was higher from the cocksfoot rows than from the broadcast stand. For ryegrass and meadow fescue, broadcasting gave higher yields than row sowing while timothy showed no significant difference between sowing methods.During the winter, all species showed a loss of dry matter. Losses for ryegrass, cocksfoot, timothy and meadow fescue were respectively 34%, 17%, 18% and 24%. Broadcast stands averaged 11% greater loss than the rows.

Notizen: In the results from a previously reported uniformity trial on pasture evaluation, there appeared to be systematic areal changes in the crude fibre and crude protein percentages of the herbage. These trends have been illustrated by the calculation of quadratic contours and the possible relationships of the changes to local soil differences, moisture percentages and copse shelter effects have been investigated.

Notizen: Results are presented for the final two years of a previously described experiment.The return of dung and urine by sheep to a ryegrass/white-clover ley was controlled by suitable harnesses to give four treatments (no dung or urine, dung, urine, dung and urine) which were combined in a replicated factorial design with four levels of nitrogenous fertilizer application (0, 52, 182, 312 1b. N per acre).Applied nitrogen and urine were the dominant factors affecting botanical composition. The percentage of ryegrass increased and that of clover decreased with the progressive increases in nitrogen application. Volunteer species (mainly Poa spp.) contributed up to 20 per cent by the final year, the maximum occurring under the medium-high nitrogen treatment.Urine restricted the incursion of weed grasses.Combined with urine or the full return of excreta, high levels of applied nitrogen increased herbage production by up to 120 per cent. There was little response to dung except at the highest nitrogen level.The yield response to applied nitrogen was almost linear. In the absence of animal returns response was poor, partly due to shortage of potash. When both excreta were withheld the light nitrogen dressing depressed the annual production compared with the control; where both excreta were returned together with this dressing no reduction occurred in annual yield and the spring yield was improved (p 〈0.05).

Notizen: When livestock are used to measure the output of pasture, the potential output of the animal is on occasions lower than that of the grassland so that this may determine the yields of animal products which are obtained, regardless of pasture type and treatment. The implications of this are discussed in relation to the interpretation of data of grassland evaluation, and also in relation to maximum utilisation of grass.

Notizen: Eight strains of white clover were compared under a cutting treatment over a three-year period. The medium-leaved, persistent strains S.100, S.100 Nomark, Kersey, New Zealand CM. and P.P. generally gave the highest yield of clover, but this was counterbalanced by an increased yield of unsown species in the plots of wild white clovers S.184 and Kent.The unsuitability of Ladino clover for British conditions was shown by its lack of persistency and poor yield. The new strain S.100 Nomark gave a similar total yield to S.100.

Notizen: S.48 timothy plants were induced to form proliferating inflorescences by exposure to 2–4 weeks of long days followed by a return to short days. Serial micro-dissections showed that the lemma enlarges to resemble a leaf but that glumes, palea and all reproductive organs are also present and perfectly farmed. At a later stage a vegetative shoot bearing several foliage leaves, axillary buds and root initials is formed, presumably as a continuation of the rachilla.The production of proliferations by insufficient exposure to photoperiods favourable for flowering is discussed. Proliferations may occur spontaneously in many normally seed-setting grasses, but in a number of species this form of growth is genetically fixed.

Notizen: A study was made of the local effects on yield and botanical composition of the herbage of cattle dung and urine applied to permanent pasture as simulated defaecations and urinations.A single application of urine had a negligible effect upon botanical composition. In the 2-ft.-diameter circle around dung patches there was an increase in cocksfoot, creeping bent, red fescue and white clover, and a decrease in herbs.Urine patches were neglected by grazing stock for short periods only. Herbage around dung patches was neglected for a period varying from 13–18 months. The effect of this neglect was to restrict the spread of white clover around dung patches in comparison with similar plots kept short by cutting.Yield response to urine in the area of deposition lasted for two cuts following application, response to dung for four cuts. An increase in crude-protein content of the herbage was recorded only in samples taken one month after application of dung or urine, and not later.Increases in crude-protein yield following spring applications of dung or urine were greater than those following autumn applications. The inferiority of autumn applications may be attributed to winter leaching of nitrogen.

Notizen: Three trials in which metabisulphite was used as a silage additive are described and the results discussed.The data from two small-scale trials suggests that metabisulphite and molasses each have a similar effect on the quality of the silage produced, and that wilting appeared to be more effective than either of these two additives.A comparison of silages in two large-scale trials indicates the necessity for uniform distribution of the metabisulphite.