Reed Canarygrass vs. Grass-Legume Mixtures Under Irrigation as Pasture for Sheep

Abstract

Yearling Romnelet wethers were used to compare reed canarygrass and brome-orchard-ladino with two levels of nitrogen and ladino clover as additives to the reed canarygrass for three consecutive years. When all factors were taken into account the brome-orchard-ladino gave the most satisfactory results followed closely by the reed canarygrass-ladino clover mixture. Reed canarygrass alone produced the lowest number of sheep days over a three-year period and the lowest actual gains per hectare. The reed canarygrass plus 300 kg of N/ha produced the highest actual weight gain, 640 kg/ha, and the greatest number of sheep days, 2,240. However, the nitrogen fertilizer cost $84.00/ha, which cannot be justified in terms of additional T.D.N. produced. Ladino clover not only makes a substantial contribution to the total dry matter produced but also provides nutrients in the form of nitrogen for the reed canarygrass in the mixture.