Respuesta productiva y dinámica de rebrote del ballico perenne a diferentes alturas de corte

The objective of this study (which was carried out in a greenhouse) was to investigate the effects of cutting height on herbage production and regrowth dynamics of perennial ryegrass swards. All plots were randomly allocated to six treatments (3, 6, 9, 12, 15 cm cutting height and control) with 15 replicates (three per tray). All pots were cut twice weekly. Every four weeks from March 7 to July 15 all pots contained in one tray were withdrawn for destructive readings of tiller population density, tiller weight, leaf:stem ratio and leaf:non-leaf ratio. Treatments were analyzed in a completely randomized design with three replicates. A multiple regression analysis (stepwise) was also carried out. Cumulative herbage mass was higher at 9 and 12 cm cutting heights (PSe efectuó un experimento, en condiciones de invernadero, para determinar el efecto de la altura de corte en la respuesta productiva y dinámica de rebrote del ballico perenne (Lolium perenne L.). Los tratamientos incluyeron cortes de forraje dos veces por semana a cinco diferentes alturas (3, 6, 9, 12 y 15 cm) y un testigo sin corte. Las variables evaluadas fueron: forraje cosechado y acumulado; densidad y peso de los tallos; relación hoja:tallo y hoja:no hoja (tallo + material muerto, MM) y tasa de recambio. Se utilizó un diseño completamente al azar con tres repeticiones por tratamiento y se realizó una regresión por pasos (stepwise). Los resultados indican que la mayor acumulación de forraje se presentó al cosechar a 9 ó 12 cm (