Soledad Navarrete Quijada

Citation

Thesis Title
Evaluation of Herb Pastures for New Zealand Dairy Systems

Read article at Massey Research Online:

Chicory and plantain are herb pasture species widely used by New Zealand dairy farmers, but their grazing requirements and any potential benefits for dairy systems require more research. The presence of bioactive compounds in plantain with antimicrobial activity created interest in their potential effect on rumen fermentation. Ms Navarrete Quijada evaluated the effect of grazing frequency on the pasture performance and cow preference on chicory, plantain and herb-clover mix pastures, and investigated the impact of bioactive compounds of plantain on in vitrorumen fermentation. Both plantain and herb-clover mix were more productive under frequent grazing and persisted better than chicory. The bioactive compounds in plantain decreased ammonia production during rumen fermentation resulting in less nitrogen excreted in the urine of cows grazing plantain. Her findings suggest that plantain and herb-clover mix provide a high-quality feed resilient to grazing frequency with the environmental advantage of decreasing nitrogen lost from dairy farms.

Supervisors
Professor Peter Kemp
Associate Professor Penny Back
Dr Sarah Pain