Tropical Pasture Science

Climatic factors affecting pasture growth and yield. Soil factors affecting pasture growth and yield. The tropical pasture species. Management of tropical pastures. Animal production from tropical pastures. Applications to pasture research and developement.

Tropical Forage Plants: Development and Use covers the research and resulting pasture development in the tropics and subtropics, which has undergone dramatic changes in the past few decades. Providing a broad, global perspective, it serves as a comprehensive resource covering a wide range of subjects pertaining to forage and animal production in th

The grasses. Classification and distribution. Environment in relation to some aspects of grass physiology. Day length. Light intensity. Temperature. Rainfall. Soils. The structure of the grass plant. Cultivation. Establishment. Management. Association with the legumes. Herbage yields. Conservation. Nutritive value. Reproduction. The structure of floral parts. Flowering and pollination. Fertilization. Apomixis. Seed. Seed germination. Seed production. The more important species. The legumes. Classification and distribution. The structure of the leguminous plant. Nitrogen fixation by the legumes. In mixture with the grasses. Cultivation. Pests and diseases. Yields, utilization. Chemical composition, nutritive value. Palatability, toxicity. Reproduction. The flowers. Flowring, pollination. Seed production and harvesting. Breeding. The more important species.

Limitations to seed production. Site selection for seed production. Crop husbandry of tropical pastures species growm for seed production. Harvesting and processing seed of tropical pastures species. Control of seed quality. Seeding characteristics of the main tropical pasture grasses. Seeding characteristics of the main tropical pasture legumes.

Factors affecting pasture establishment; Management of pasture; Determination of soil properties and soil profile description.

This book examines the problems involved in the utilization of tropical and subtropical pastures and explains how they can be managed to meet the requirements for growth and replacement of both plants and animals. Following an overview of the livestock systems of the tropics, the effects of grazing animals on the soil, biotic, and climatic environment of the pasture are described. The response of the animals to the available pasture are discussed in terms of pasture attributes of nutritive value and turf structure, selectivity, and grazing behavior. Methods for attaining continuity of forage supply are also described. A central objective of this work is to achieve a synchrony between pastures available and the forage requirement of the animal.