Abstract
Three treatments, ND (no dung deposition), JD (an artificial dung deposition in June) and AD (an artificial dung deposition in August) treatments, were applied to a bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge) pasture rotationally grazed by Holstein heifers. In JD treatment leaf dry weight and stem dry weight of 10 cm<layers were heavier than those in ND treatment only during the first 2-3 months after the dung deposition. In AD treatment, compared with ND treatment, leaf dry weight of 10 cm<layers and stem dry weight of 0-10 cm layer were heavier during the first 2-3 months, and standing dead dry weight of 0-20 cm layers and stem dry weight of 10-20 cm layer were heavier thereafter. The LAI in AD treatment exceeded that in ND treatment during the first 2-3 months after the dung deposition, while the LAI in JD treatment was always similar to that in ND treatment. The SLW was larger in both JD and AD treatments than in ND treatment during the first 2-3 months. Season of the dung deposition in general gave a clear difference to the effects on the aboveground plant dry weight and canopy structure.
