Sward Height and a Capacitance Probe for Estimating Herbage Mass

Estimation of herbage mass is essential in pasture research and in making practical grazing management decisions. Sward height and a capacitance probe were evaluated as non‐destructive measures of herbage mass at seven dates from April 16 to July 30 on continuously grazed predominantly Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) pasture. Paddocks were 1 ha in size and were stocked at 3, 4 or 5 steers ha−1 (average initial weight 312 kg). Four to six, sampling points were located randomly in each paddock at each date. Sward height was measured with a ruler, the vegetation in a 0.2 nr area visually designated “high” or “low” according to legume percentage, ten readings using a single capacitance probe were made and the herbage clipped. Paired data with clipped dry weight as dependent variable and height and/or the average corrected probe reading as covariates were analyzed statistically. The relationship between clipped dry weight and nondestructive measures of herbage mass was found to be linear. There was a small effect of sampling date in Spring on the relationship between destructive and non‐destructive measures of herbage mass, but each of the measures, including herbage mass predicted from probe and height measurements, resulted in the same inferences being made about differences between treatments. Neither stocking rate nor small differences in percentage legume affected the relationship. Thus, sward height and capacitance probe show promise as nondestructive measures of pasture herbage mass.