Pasture Production Lecture Notes

A vocabulary flashcard deck covering the definition of pastures, classifications of indigenous and exotic species, methods of establishment, seed treatment, grazing systems, and conservation methods based on the lecture notes.

Pasture

Land covered with grass, legumes and other plants growing naturally or planted for feeding livestock.

Indigenous pasture

An uncultivated grassland, such as dry lands or dambo, in which indigenous species are dominant with little or no legumes.

Pure stand

A pasture where only grass or only legumes are grown.

Mixed stand

A pasture where grasses and legumes are grown together to provide higher nutritive value and nitrogen fixation.

Permanent pasture

A cultivated pasture containing at least one exotic species of grass or legume managed for $10-15$ years.

Temporary pastures

Also known as leys, these are cultivated pastures lasting $3-5$ years consisting of pure or mixed stands.

Broadcasting

A method of sowing that involves spreading seed on the soil surface by hand or machine, followed by covering with soil.

Drilling

A sowing method involving placing seeds in drills made by sticks, hoes or machinery and then covering them with soil.

Under sowing

A method of combining pasture and an arable crop on the same piece of land by planting pasture after the arable crop is established.

Over sowing

Also called sod seeding, this involves planting pasture into an existing pasture after reducing the current species by burning, grazing, or slashing.

Vegetative propagation

Establishing new plants using parts of a plant, such as stem cuttings for star grass or Napier grass.

Seed rate

The amount of seeds required per hectare, calculated as \text{expected plant population per hectare} \times \text{seed size}^{-1} \times \text{germination } \text{\text{%}}^{-1} \times \text{purity } \text{\text{%}}^{-1}.

Hulling

The process of removing pods from leguminous seeds to increase germination rates and facilitate even distribution.

Scarification

The process of softening the hard testa of some legumes using heat, mechanical scratching, or chemicals to speed up water intake.

Inoculation

The process of mixing legume seed with the correct type of rhizobium bacteria before sowing to ensure nitrogen fixation.

Pelleting

Coating legume seeds with materials like lime, gypsum, or rock phosphate to assist germination in unfavorable soil pH.

Pure line seed content (PLSC)

A measure of seed quality calculated as \frac{\text{purity } \text{\text{%}} \times \text{germination } \text{\text{%}}}{100}.

Basal dressing

A fertiliser application done during planting, typically using $23:21:0+4s$ for pure grass pasture.

Top dressing

Fertiliser application performed once pasture is established, often using CAN for grass pasture.

Stocking rate

The number of animals of a specified type grazing on a unit area.

Carrying capacity

The maximum number of animals that can graze a given area throughout the year without causing pasture destruction.

Zero grazing

Also known as stall or cut-and-carry grazing, it is a system where pasture is cut and transported to animals kept in total confinement.

Rotational grazing

The practice of grazing livestock on a part of a pasture for a specific period before moving them to a rested part in an orderly manner.

Tethering

A method of rotational grazing where an animal is tied to a post with a rope, restricting it to a specific feeding area.

Strip grazing

An intensive form of rotational grazing using an electric fence to confine animals to a small fresh area of pasture each day.

Continuous grazing

Also called communal or uncontrolled grazing, this system allows animals to graze on one land for prolonged periods without rest.

Deferred grazing

A system where pasture is allowed to mature and left standing to be used during the dry season when feed is scarce.

Hay

Forage crops that have been cut and partially dried to about 15-20 \text{\text{%}} moisture content.

Silage

Cut forage that is preserved through anaerobic fermentation while green and fresh, typically stored in a pit silo.

Ensiling

The process of making silage by fermenting green forage in anaerobic conditions.

Lactic acid

A substance produced during silage fermentation that preserves the forage and lowers the pH to approximately $4$.

Foggage

Standing hay that is left un-grazed for use specifically in the dry season.