The influence of herbage height at treading and treading intensity on the yields and botanical composition of a perennial ryegrass-white clover pasture

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Abstract
The effects of sheep treading and herbage cover at treading on the yield and botanical composition of a perennial ryegrass-white clover pasture were assessed at four rates of treading. Where pasture was trodden before the herbage was removed, compared with treading pasture after defoliation, higher yields of total herbage and sown species were recorded in winter and spring, but not in autumn and summer. At the highest treading intensity marked reduction in herbage yields were recorded in all seasons, but at treading intensities of 24 sheep equivalents per acre or less, reductions were much less marked in some seasons. The implications of the results obtained on extrapolations from experimental treading investigations to farm practice, on the significance of herbage cover at treading in farm practice, and on farm management systems, are discussed.

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