Teodor MARUȘCA*
Research and Development Institute for Grassland Brașov, Cucului Street no. 5, 500128, Brașov, Romania
* Corresponding author: maruscat@yahoo.com
DOI: https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.13353712
Abstract
Mountain meadows degraded by the invasion of the Nardus stricta species in the Perșani Mountains located in the Curve Carpathians, were improved by fertilization with manure 35 t/ha, variant A being natural grass cover, Variant B reseeded with a complex mixture and Variant C reseeded with a simple mixture of Dactylis glomerata, Lolium perenne, Festuca pratensis, and Phleum pratense in proportion of 80% each in combination with 10% Trifolium repens and 10% Lotus corniculatus. Each variant was divided into eight plots for rational grazing with female calves averaging 17.5 months and 273 kg. The best results in the first two years were obtained in Variant B, complex grass mixture, where a gain of 4.6 kg/ha/day and 607 kg/ha live weight gain were achieved in the 133 days of the grazing season. Variant A was invaded by Deschampsia caespitosa and in Variant C with simple mixtures production decreased due to local varieties of Lolium perenne and Festuca pratensis, which reduced their participation in the grass cover. The highest yield per head was also achieved in Variant B with 9.18 g/head and an average consumption of 11.3 kg dry matter per 1 kg yield. In perspective, the improvement of the Nardus pastures is economically efficient.
Keywords:
Nardus stricta pasture, improvement, grazing, young cattle, yield increase, live weight