Abstract
1. A 3-year experiment is described in which perennial rye-grass/white clover swards were cut to within either 1 in. of 2–2½ in. of ground level when the herbage had reached either the ‘grazing’ or the ‘silage’ stage of growth. Superimposed on the cutting treatments were several fertilizer treatments which involved application of varying amounts of nitrogen at different dates over the season. 2. Throughout the experiment cutting to within 1 in. of ground level gave greater dry-matter and crude-protein yields of mixed herbage and of clover than cutting to within 2–2½ in. of ground level, the increase in dry-matter yield ranging from 39 to 49%. 3. The response of clover to these ‘height of cutting’ treatments developed more slowly than the response of the sward as a whole, and was modified in the later stages by the particular fertilizer nitrogen treatment applied. 4. It is suggested that the greater herbage yields obtained from close- than from lax-cut swards resulted from the differential effects of the two cutting treatments on stem and leaf formation in the grasses, but the need for further investigation is stressed. 5. Discrepancies between the effects of the ‘height of cutting’ treatments in this experiment and those reported by other workers are indicated, and it is shown that these discrepancies probably result from the varying cutting frequencies adopted. 6. Cutting the sward at varying stages of growth and increasing the rate of fertilizer nitrogen application had very similar effects on mixed herbage and clover yields in this experiment to those reported previously by other workers. 7. Where the total amount of fertilizer nitrogen applied over the season was small (4 cwt. ‘Nitro-Chalk’/acre) delaying the first dressing until after the first or second cut reduced the dry-matter and crude-protein yields of mixed herbage, and had little effect on those of clover. A similar delay where greater total amounts of fertilizer nitrogen were used (8–12 cwt. ‘Nitro-Chalk’/acre) reduced the dry-matter yields of mixed herbage, and slightly increased the dry-matter and crude-protein yields of clover. Under these heavy nitrogen treatments the crude-protein yields of mixed herbage decreased only where the delay involved a reduction in the total amount of fertilizer nitrogen applied over the season. 8. Although delaying the first dressing of the season reduced mixed herbage yields at all fertilizer nitrogen levels, it resulted in a more uniform distribution of production over the season. The practical significance of this is discussed.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
Cutting to 1 in. produced more mixed herbage dry matter than cutting to 2–2½ in., with dry matter yield rising 39 to 49%.
- Taxon
- perennial rye-grass/white clover
Trifolium repens
Lolium perennet0 - Treatment
- cutting to within 1 in. of ground levele0
- Outcome
- dry-matter and crude-protein yields of mixed herbagee0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Value
- 39 to 49%e0
- Comparator
- cutting to within 2–2½ in. of ground levele0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“cutting to within 1 in. of ground level gave greater dry-matter and crude-protein yields of mixed herbage and of clover than cutting to within 2–2½ in. of ground level, the increase in dry-matter yield ranging from 39 to 49%”
t0“perennial rye-grass/white clover”
Claim · model-written summary
Close cutting increased crude protein yield of mixed herbage.
- Taxon
- perennial rye-grass/white cloverTrifolium repensLolium perennet0
- Treatment
- cutting to within 1 in. of ground levele0
- Outcome
- crude-protein yields of mixed herbagee0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Comparator
- cutting to within 2–2½ in. of ground levele0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“cutting to within 1 in. of ground level gave greater dry-matter and crude-protein yields of mixed herbage and of clover than cutting to within 2–2½ in. of ground level”
t0“perennial rye-grass/white clover”
Claim · model-written summary
Close cutting increased clover dry matter and crude protein yields.
- Taxon
- white cloverTrifolium repenst0
- Treatment
- cutting to within 1 in. of ground levele0
- Outcome
- dry-matter and crude-protein yields of mixed herbage and of clovere0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Comparator
- cutting to within 2–2½ in. of ground levele0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“cutting to within 1 in. of ground level gave greater dry-matter and crude-protein yields of mixed herbage and of clover than cutting to within 2–2½ in. of ground level”
t0“perennial rye-grass/white clover”
Claim · model-written summary
Clover response to cutting height developed more slowly and was modified later by fertilizer nitrogen.
- Outcome
- response of clover to these ‘height of cutting’ treatmentse0
- Direction
- more slowlye0
- Comparator
- the sward as a wholee0
TrifoliumOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The response of clover to these ‘height of cutting’ treatments developed more slowly than the response of the sward as a whole, and was modified in the later stages by the particular fertilizer nitrogen treatment applied”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest close cutting increased yield through differential stem and leaf formation in grasses.
Verbatim
e0“the greater herbage yields obtained from close- than from lax-cut swards resulted from the differential effects of the two cutting treatments on stem and leaf formation in the grasses”
Claim · model-written summary
Different cutting frequencies probably explain discrepancies with earlier cutting height studies.
- Taxon
- perennial rye-grass/white cloverTrifolium repensLolium perennet0
- Outcome
- discrepanciese0
- Qualifier
- varying cutting frequenciese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“these discrepancies probably result from the varying cutting frequencies adopted”
t0“perennial rye-grass/white clover”
Claim · model-written summary
Delaying the first small nitrogen dressing reduced mixed herbage dry matter and crude protein yields.
- Taxon
- perennial rye-grass/white cloverTrifolium repensLolium perennet0
- Treatment
- delaying the first dressing until after the first or second cute0
- Outcome
- dry-matter and crude-protein yields of mixed herbagee0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Qualifier
- 4 cwt. ‘Nitro-Chalk’/acree0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Where the total amount of fertilizer nitrogen applied over the season was small (4 cwt. ‘Nitro-Chalk’/acre) delaying the first dressing until after the first or second cut reduced the dry-matter and crude-protein yields of mixed herbage”
t0“perennial rye-grass/white clover”
Claim · model-written summary
At low total nitrogen, delaying first dressing had little effect on clover yields.
- Taxon
- white cloverTrifolium repenst0
- Treatment
- delaying the first dressing until after the first or second cute1
- Outcome
- those of clovere0
- Direction
- little effecte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“and had little effect on those of clover”
t0“perennial rye-grass/white clover”
e1“delaying the first dressing until after the first or second cut”
Claim · model-written summary
At heavier nitrogen, delaying first dressing reduced mixed herbage dry matter yield.
- Taxon
- perennial rye-grass/white cloverTrifolium repensLolium perennet0
- Treatment
- A similar delaye0
- Outcome
- dry-matter yields of mixed herbagee0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Qualifier
- 8–12 cwt. ‘Nitro-Chalk’/acree0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“A similar delay where greater total amounts of fertilizer nitrogen were used (8–12 cwt. ‘Nitro-Chalk’/acre) reduced the dry-matter yields of mixed herbage”
t0“perennial rye-grass/white clover”
Claim · model-written summary
At heavier nitrogen, delayed dressing slightly increased clover dry matter and protein yields.
- Taxon
- white cloverTrifolium repenst0
- Treatment
- delaying the first dressing until after the first or second cute1
- Outcome
- dry-matter and crude-protein yields of clovere0
- Direction
- slightly increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“and slightly increased the dry-matter and crude-protein yields of clover”
t0“perennial rye-grass/white clover”
e1“delaying the first dressing until after the first or second cut”
Claim · model-written summary
Under heavy nitrogen, delayed dressing reduced mixed herbage crude protein only when it lowered season total nitrogen.
- Taxon
- perennial rye-grass/white cloverTrifolium repensLolium perennet0
- Treatment
- the delaye0
- Outcome
- crude-protein yields of mixed herbagee0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Qualifier
- only where the delay involved a reduction in the total amount of fertilizer nitrogen applied over the seasone0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Under these heavy nitrogen treatments the crude-protein yields of mixed herbage decreased only where the delay involved a reduction in the total amount of fertilizer nitrogen applied over the season”
t0“perennial rye-grass/white clover”
Claim · model-written summary
Delaying first dressing made seasonal production more uniform.
- Taxon
- perennial rye-grass/white cloverTrifolium repensLolium perennet0
- Treatment
- delaying the first dressing of the seasone1
- Outcome
- more uniform distribution of production over the seasone0
- Direction
- more uniforme0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“it resulted in a more uniform distribution of production over the season”
t0“perennial rye-grass/white clover”
e1“delaying the first dressing of the season”
The same questions in other papers
pruning · quality: protein · Lolium perenne (perennial ryegrass)Positive and negative results
2 in the opposite direction
- negative
- no effect
pruning · quality: protein · Trifolium repens (white clover)Positive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 2 in the opposite direction · 1 reporting no difference from an alternative
- negative
- negative
- no effect
1 paper more in this group
See all 5 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.