Search Results (2)

The pasture–animal interface of warm-season perennial grass–legume mixed pastures has never been investigated in forage-based equine systems. Therefore, this 2-year study investigated the herbage and animal responses under 84-day continuous stocking in mixed pastures of rhizoma peanut (RP, Arachis glabrata Benth) and bahiagrass (BG, Paspalum notatum Flüggé) with 30 kg nitrogen (N) ha⁻¹ (BG-RP) compared to BG pastures fertilized with 120 kg N ha⁻¹ (BG-N₁₂₀) and no N (BG-N₀). Measurements were taken every 14 days, except for intake and in vivo digestibility, which were measured every 28 days. BG-N₁₂₀ had the highest stocking rate (p = 0.01; 3.7 AU ha⁻¹) in 2019, while BG-N₀ had the lowest (p = 0.01; 2.6 AU ha⁻¹) in 2020. Crude protein and digestible energy were greatest (p < 0.05) for BG-N₁₂₀ and BG-RP in some of the evaluation days in 2019 but similar across pastures in 2020. Crude protein digestibility was greatest (p < 0.05) for BG-RP in the late season. Intake was less (p = 0.03) for horses grazing BG-RP (3.2%BW) compared to BG-N₀ (5.0%BW). Nonetheless, no differences (p > 0.05) were observed among pastures for body measurements. The results indicate that BG-RP pastures can improve forage nutritive value and maintain horse body condition while maintaining similar stocking rate to monoculture bahiagrass with high N fertilizer rates. Full article

The introduction of rhizoma peanut (RP Arachis glabrata Benth) into bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flüggé) may require time to develop stable plant–soil microbe interactions as the microbial legacy of the previous plant community may be long-lasting. A previous study showed that <2 years of introducing rhizoma peanut into bahiagrass pastures minimally affected soil bacterial diversity and community composition. In this study, we compared the effects of the long-term inclusion of rhizoma peanut (>8 years) into bahiagrass on soil bacterial diversity and community composition against their monocultures at 0 to 15 and 15 to 30 cm soil depths using next-generation sequencing to target bacterial 16S V3–V4 regions. We observed that a well-established RP–bahiagrass mixed stand led to a 36% increase in bacterial alpha diversity compared to the bahiagrass monoculture. There was a shift from a soil bacterial community dominated by Proteobacteria (~26%) reported in other bahiagrass and rhizoma peanut studies to a soil bacterial community dominated by Firmicutes (39%) in our study. The relative abundance of the bacterial genus Crossiella, known for its antimicrobial traits, was enhanced in the presence of RP. Differences in soil bacterial diversity and community composition were substantial between 0 to 15 and 15 to 30 cm soil layers, with N₂-fixing bacteria belonging to the phylum Proteobacteria concentrated in 0 to 15 cm. Introducing RP into bahiagrass pastures is a highly sustainable alternative to mineral N fertilizer inputs. Our results provide evidence that this system also promotes greater soil microbial diversity and is associated with unique taxa that require further study to better understand their contributions to healthy pastures. Full article