GRASS EFFICIENCY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22439, 20 September 1947, Page 8

GRASS EFFICIENCY

GROWTHJN STAGES FRESH PASTURE BEST STEADY NUTRIENT LOSS Grass with its virtues has also its deficiencies, although for milking stock under New Zealand conditions no crop or conserved pasture can approach good grass in efficiency, states Massey Agricultural College. Approximately three-quarters of the growth of grass is made in six months of the year, it is highly affected by climatic conditions, and its quality varies greatly according to the stage of growth. For nutritional purposes it is important to recognise four stages of pasture growth. The first is the young and immature stage, best described as ■‘sappy". This is the dangerous stage associated with scouring. facial eczema, grass staggers and similar dietetic troubles. The second stage is the leafy one, when fibre lias risen sufficiently to gi\e the pasture some substance. It is often described ns the four to five inches stage, but it must be recognised that in mid-spring it can grow to a foot and still retain its desirable nutritive qualities. It is at this last-mentioned stage that it can be cut and handled conveni entlv to provide material for first-class silage: that it., just before the main species break into seed heads. rood Value of Silage

Such silage, properly made, will have a very good toed value and will be highly suitable for feeding to stock when they are in heavy production: for example, in a summer dry spell or just after calving. In fact, the best of one's silage should always be reserved for such periods, and the inferior qualities for periods when the stock are dry. Grass-drying in Britain is carried out relatively early in this second stage. The dried product compares very favourably in feeding value with that favourite of concentrates, linseed cake. It is rich in protein, highly digestible, and capable of sustaining milk production at a high level- It must be remembered that grass-drying adds nothing to the food value of its product, for all that value is present in grass at its best grazing stage. Protein Steadily Lost

The third stage in pasture growth is the flowering stage, which is the latest stage at which it should bo cut for hay or silage- Compared with the preceding stage the percentage of fibre is higher, and there is a fall in digestibility. The pasture has passed from the status of a ‘watery concentrate" to tbit of a roughage. No longer is it a food for high-producing stock, but it has now descended to the category of being good maintenance food, with a little bit over for production purposes. Finally, there is the last stage when the seeds are mature, and when fibre has reached a maximum and protein content and digestibility have fallen to the lowest levels. The pasture has now become very second-rate roughage, with very limited value for dry stock. Too often grass is approaching this stage when it is cut for hay. Certainly, the hay is very easily made with such a mature crop, but the product can never be classed as useful for the milking herd. Furthermore, the recovery of this late-cut pasture is not good. Gen-, erally, cutting coincides with the driest spell’ of the year, while the plant has been allowed to complete its full cycle of growth, and so the aftermath will be poor. Grazing or early cutting has a pruning effect and keeps the pasture in a young leafy state over a long productive season.