Influence of utilization regimes on the productivity of perennial grass stands in the southern part of the Western Forest-Steppe

Abstract

The results of studies on the effect of usage regimes on dry matter yield and botanical composition of perennial grass stands are presented. It has been established that, with chemical soil improvement, perennial grass stands with alfalfa produce higher yields compared to perennial grass stands with birdsfoot trefoil on non-deacidified plots. Thus, with permanent hay use, the dry matter yield from grass-alfalfa grass stands was 8.41 t/ha, and from grass-birdsfoot trefoil grass stands – 6.25 t/ha. The lowest productivity was observed with permanent grazing – 4.89 t/ha for grass-alfalfa and
4.06 t/ha of dry matter for grass stands with birdsfoot trefoil undersown. Therefore, for permanent pasture use on acidic soils without liming, it is more advisable to use a grass mixture with the addition of birdsfoot trefoil as an ecologically adaptable and resilient species. For grass-alfalfa agrophytocenosis, it is necessary to use an alternating or combined regime of grass cover, which provided
6.37 and 7.02 t/ha of dry matter. On limed plots, the proportion of alfalfa was high throughout the three years of pasture use of grass cover and amounted to 37.9–46.4 %. On unlimed pasture plots, the proportion of alfalfa was only 0.7–7.6 %. The undersowing of birdsfoot trefoil, which accounted for 12.6–21.4 %, proved to be quite effective. Combined and alternating use of grass cover allowed for a higher proportion of legumes to be preserved compared to permanent grazing use of grass cover.