Yield and nutritive value of binary legume-grass mixtures under grazing or frequent cutting

Abstract

Although most forage production in eastern Canada is comprised of species mixtures, little research has identified the best species to include in forage mixtures. Our objective was to identify binary legume-grass mixtures with high forage yield and nutritive value under either simulated grazing with frequent cutting or cattle grazing. The experiment was conducted at three sites in eastern Canada with 18 binary legume-grass mixtures of one of six grass species [Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), meadow fescue (Festuca eliator auct. Amer.), orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L), tall fescue (Schedonorus phoenix (Scob.) Holub), timothy (Phleum pratense L.), and meadow bromegrass (Bromus biebersteinii Roem. Schult.)] seeded in 2010 with a grazing-type alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), white clover (Trifolium repens L.), or birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.). The six grass species grown in mixture with alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, or white clover persisted well under frequent cutting or rotational grazing at the three sites. White clover grown in a binary mixture with a grass species did not perform well under frequent cutting or rotational grazing. Meadow bromegrass-based binary mixtures were overall the best performing in terms of DM yield; although their nutritive value was average, meadow bromegrass combined with alfalfa or birdsfoot trefoil were among the best legume-grass mixtures for the estimated milk production per hectare. The greatest estimated milk production per hectare was obtained with birdsfoot trefoil mixed with meadow bromegrass followed by the alfalfa-timothy and the alfalfa-meadow bromegrass mixtures.