Irrigated Pasture
| Project: | Parasitic Nematodes of Irrigated Pasture; Identification, Pathogenicity, and Control |
| Project Leader: | Burlando, T.M. |
| Summary: | 1975. M.S. Thesis, UCDavis: p. 22. Nematode population and chemical control studies conducted at the University of California Sierra Foothill Range Field Station indicate that during and immediately following periods of prolonged drought nematodes may be a significant limiting facto in the production of irrigated pasture. Neither DBCP, nor DBCP plus subsequent oxamyl sprays, nor oxamyl sprays alone, significantly increased total production of aboveground herbage during a 1-year field trial. Analysis of oxamyl residues in folia ge revealed that large amounts of this chemical remained in the foliage 28 days after the last application. |
| Project: | Adaptability of tropical forages to California's Central Valley |
| Project Leader: | George, M.R., and C. Shock |
| Summary: | 1984 California Agriculture 38(9): pp. 10-12. Comparison of forage dry matter yield for 20 tropical and cool season forages harvested in 1980 and 1981, UCD. Percentage of modified crude fiber and crude protein of 14 tropical and cool season grasses sampled July 22, 1980, UCD. Perennial warm-season forages offer the advantage of high yields but disadvantages of lower cold tolerance and lower forage quality. Eventual utilization of high-yielding tropical forages will depend upon selection of plant materials with high quality and good low-temperature tolerance. |
| Project: | Warm season grass trial |
| Project Leader: | George, M.R., C. Wilson, P.B. Sands, R. Ingram, and M. Connor |
| Summary: | 1987 Proc., UC Sierra Foothill Range Field Station Beef and Range Field Day: pp. 41-42. The cool season species commonly used in foothill and valley irrigated pastures are not very productive during the hot summer months. Only dallisgrass, a warm season grass, remains productive during July and August. Warm season grasses, being of tropical origin, have a high optimum temperature for growth and therefore do quite well under hot summer temperatures. The objective of this study is to test several warm season grasses for their adaptability to foothill irrigated pastures during the summer and to determine yield response to adequate and reduced irrigation. |
| Project: | Warm season grass trial (A progress report) |
| Project Leader: | George, M.R., C. Wilson, P.B. Sands, R. Ingram, and M. Connor |
| Summary: | 1988 Proc., UC Sierra Foothill Range Field Station Beef and Range Field Day: pp. 30-39. The objective of this study is to test several warm season grasses for their adaptibility to foothill irrigated pastures to determine yield response to adequate and reduced irrigation. The irrigation treatments are not reported in this progress report. Seven tables report on dry matter, total yield, protein, ADF, NDR, and ash residue. |
| Project: | Livestock for irrigated pasture |
| Project Leader: | Hull, J.L. |
| Summary: | 1991 Proc., UC Sierra Foothill Range Field Station Beef and Range Field Day: pp. 46-47. All phases of grazing management must be considered to optimize animal production from irrigated pasture. These should include a preventive animal health program, a pasture management plan, an animal management plan and the selection of the type of livestock to be grazed within the overall management system to be the desired objectives. |
| Project: | Irrigated pastures: first-year experiences with "controlled grazing" |
| Project Leader: | Raguse, C.A. |
| Summary: | 1989 Proc., UC Sierra Foothill Range Field Station Beef and Range Field Day: pp. 12-19. This article summarizes first-year experiences with "short duration" grazing with beef cattle on a perennial grass-legume irrigated pasture. |
| Project: | Influence of pasture conditions (quality) on livestock performance |
| Project Leader: | Raguse, C.A. |
| Summary: | 1991 Proc., UC Sierra Foothill Range Field Station Beef and Range Field Day: pp. 15-20. The net effect of pasture maturity, selection, intake, particle breakdown, digestion, absorption, metabolizable energy (ME) content and efficiency of ME utilization for animal production can be summarized as Feeding Value. Animals appear to respond primarily to variations in the amount and maturity of leaf material in the sward, and its distribution in the canopy. |
| Project: | Influence of pasture conditions (quality) on Perennial irrigated pasture. III. Beef calf production from irrigated pasture and winter annual range |
| Project Leader: | Raguse, C.A., J.L. Hull, and R.E. Delmas |
| Summary: | 1980 Agronomy J. 72(3): pp. 493-499. The objective of this study was to compare simple (range-only, yearlong) and complex [improved range and irrigated pasture plus winter supplementation with alflafa (Medicago sativa L.) cubes] systems for beef calf production using a fall calving (Nov-Dec), early summer weaning (May-Jun) reproduction cycle. While total land per cow/calf unit was less for the complex system and total investment higher for the simple system, operating costs, depreciation, and interest were higher for the complex system. It appeared that second and third trimester cow stresses did not adversely affect calf birth weights and ADG. |
| Project: | Management and monitoring of short duration grazing on perennial grass-legume pastures |
| Project Leader: | Raguse, C.A., and K.L. Taggard |
| Summary: | 1990. Proc., Amer. Soc. Agron. Annual Meet., San Antonio, TX. 44: p. 155. Plant and animal responses under rotational grazing should reflect entry (forage accumulated) and exit (forage utilized) levels as positioned on the theoretical "S" shaped (sigmoid) forage regrowth curve. Botanical composition changes occurred but were not related to grazing level treatments. Forage regrowth monitoring and stocking rate predictions were defined as animal unit days (AUD) per unit height or mass of forage removed. Liveweight gain ha-1 was higher for the more closely grazed treatment, a reflection of higher stocking rates; average daily gains (ADG) did not vary between grazing level treatments. Ref.144\63.76. |
| Project: | Irrigated pasture runoff water and its contained nitrate, phosphate and sulfate: Preliminary results of water sampling on the SFRFS Haworth experimental pastures |
| Project Leader: | Raguse, C.A., and K.L. Taggard |
| Summary: | 1991 Proc., UC Sierra Foothill Range Field Station Beef and Range Field Day: pp. 35-59. In 1989, we began to collect water samples and analyze them for nitrate, phosphate, sulfate and chloride content. Simultaneously, we collected samples from the applied water source (irrigation district ditch). While tentative, these samples suggested: similar levels of nitrate and sulfate, with generally higher levels in subsurface than in surface water; very low levels of phosphate, with suggestion of marginally higher levels in surface runoff; detectable increase in ion concentration in runoff following fertilization; and, except for post-fertilization, concentration values of 10 parts per million or lower. |
| Project: | Irrigation of foothill annual rangeland: a means of augmenting fall/winter forage |
| Project Leader: | Raguse, C.A., K.L. Taggard, and R.E. Delmas |
| Summary: | 1983 Foothill for food and forests, D.B. Hannaway, Ed., Timber Press, Beaverton, OR. Oregon State Univ. Symp. Series No. 2: pp. 345-349. Winter annual legumes have low fall and early winter forage yields in California's Mediterranean-type climate. A 2-year field study was conducted to determine the effect of late summer irrigation on forage yield potential of subterranean clover, rose clover, and bur clover. Under climatic conditions similar to those in the present experiment, early fall irrigation will ensure vigorous plant growth at temperatures under which maximum root development and nodulation of legumes can occur. This increase in plant material in early fall allows earlier and longer grazing periods, and up to 6,000 to 7,500 kg/ha of high quality forage can be produced. |
| Project: | An 8-/10 paddock short duration grazing system - Results of a 3-year study |
| Project Leader: | Raguse, C.A., K.L. Taggard, and J.L. Hull |
| Summary: | 1991 Proc., UC Sierra Foothill Range Field Station Beef and Range Field Day: pp. 21-27. We were able to demonstrate linear (mid) and near-asymptotic (upper) portions of a theoretical sigmoid growth response using both forage height and weight measures. Regarding stocking rate/grazing pressure, we achieved practical upper and lower limits, i.e., pastures such as these should not be grazed harder, nor be permitted to accumulate higher levels of forage mass. Proper grazing management will operate near the low end of the theoretical curve. Equal ADGs between treatments indicated equal forage quality, and the low A-U (accumulation-utilization) treatment increased transfer efficiency. |
| Project: | Short-duration grazing on irrigated pasture |
| Project Leader: | Raguse, C.A., K.L. Taggard, J.L. Hull, C.A. Daley, and J.M. Connor |
| Summary: | 1989 California Agriculture 43(4): pp. 4-7. First-year results are available in a long-term study of the popular short-duration grazing system, also known as controlled or intensive grazing, under way at the UC Sierra Foothill Range Field Station. The 1988 experiment compared two grazing intensities in an eight-paddock rotation with 3-day graining and 21-day forage regrowth intervals. A stocking rate predictor was developed based on plant height, and a close relationship was found between heifer weight gains per acre and amount of forage removed. |
| Project: | Update on short-duration grazing study on irrigated pasture |
| Project Leader: | Taggard, K.L., C.A. Raguse, M.R. George, J.L. Hull, C. Daley, and J.M. Connor |
| Summary: | 1990 California Agriculture 44(2): pp. 8-11. Two-year results showed similar responses to two levels of pasture accumulation-grazing utilization management. Orchardgrass height and capacitance probe readings were both useful in monitoring forage availability, but stocking rate predictions using grass height were less variable and change in grass height during grazing was more closely related to seasonal liveweight gain. |