Methane Emission and Milk Production from Jersey Cows Grazing Perennial Ryegrass–White Clover and Multispecies Forage Mixtures

Cecilia Loza, Thorsten Reinsch, Ralf Loges, Friedhelm Taube, José Ignacio Gere, Christof Kluß, Mario Hasler and Carsten S. Malisch
Additional contact information
Cecilia Loza: Institute of Plant Production and Plant Breeding, Grass and Forage Science/Organic Agriculture, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel (CAU), Hermann-Rodewald Straße 9, 24118 Kiel, Germany
Thorsten Reinsch: Institute of Plant Production and Plant Breeding, Grass and Forage Science/Organic Agriculture, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel (CAU), Hermann-Rodewald Straße 9, 24118 Kiel, Germany
Ralf Loges: Institute of Plant Production and Plant Breeding, Grass and Forage Science/Organic Agriculture, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel (CAU), Hermann-Rodewald Straße 9, 24118 Kiel, Germany
Friedhelm Taube: Institute of Plant Production and Plant Breeding, Grass and Forage Science/Organic Agriculture, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel (CAU), Hermann-Rodewald Straße 9, 24118 Kiel, Germany
José Ignacio Gere: Engineering Research and Development Unit (UTNBA), National Technological University, Regional School of Buenos Aires, National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires Medrano 951 (C1179AAQ), Argentina
Christof Kluß: Institute of Plant Production and Plant Breeding, Grass and Forage Science/Organic Agriculture, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel (CAU), Hermann-Rodewald Straße 9, 24118 Kiel, Germany
Mario Hasler: Department of Statistics, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel (CAU), 24118 Kiel, Germany
Carsten S. Malisch: Institute of Plant Production and Plant Breeding, Grass and Forage Science/Organic Agriculture, Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel (CAU), Hermann-Rodewald Straße 9, 24118 Kiel, Germany

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 2, 1-15

Abstract: Methane is a major constituent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ruminants, and mitigation strategies are needed to alleviate this negative environmental impact while maintaining the environmental and other benefits of grazing systems. Forages containing plant-specialized metabolites (PSM), particularly condensed tannins, may help reduce enteric methane (CH 4 ) emissions. However, information on in vivo CH 4 emissions from cows grazing mixtures that contain bioactive herbs is scarce. Accordingly, this study compared a binary mixture of perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne ) and white clover ( Trifolium repens ) against a diverse mixture of six additional species, including tannin-rich species like birdsfoot trefoil ( Lotus corniculatus ) and salad burnet ( Sanguisorba minor), in a full-grazing dairy system. Enteric CH 4 emissions were measured using the SF 6 tracer technique. Cows grazing diverse mixtures increased their energy-corrected milk (ECM) yield by 4% ( p < 0.001) compared with binary mixtures. However, CH 4 emissions per kg ECM were also 11% greater for the diverse mixtures ( p < 0.05). The very high feed quality and milk yield from both mixtures explained the low CH 4 emissions recorded relative to the milk output. The addition of forbs did not provide additional benefits at these intensities, as they were maintained in low yield shares throughout.

Keywords: polyphenols; climate smart agriculture; biodiversity; pasture; tannins; forage production (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/2/175/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/2/175/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:11:y:2021:i:2:p:175-:d:502811

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().