1. Teach the students the benefits and problems of pastures.
2. To identify and study several pastures species and consociations and its adaptation to the soils and climate of Azores Islands and Continental Portugal.
3. Promote the knowledge and the best management for each specie and consociation.
4. To study the principles for a successful pasture renewal and the common mistakes made when renewing a pasture.
5. To study the production potential (milk and meat) of some herbage grasses and forages.
6. To improve the knowledge of the different systems of forage production and the advantages and problems of each one.
7. Study the grazing management (sward condition, herbage intake and animal performance).
8. Study the grazing methods (continuous, rotational, firsts-last grazing, strip grazing, buffer grazing).
9. To evaluate the seasonality of the herbage production and the needs to supply the feed requirements with preserved forages.
1. PASTURES RELEVANCE
2. MAIN FORAGE GRASS AND LEGUME SPECIES OF THE TEMPERATE REGION
For different forage grasses and legumes the morphology, characteristics of vegetative growing, agronomic characteristics, potential production and seasonality, forage quality (energy, protein and mineral) is studied as well as the most adequate management to pursue the objectives of the grassland farm.
3. SYSTEMS OF FORAGE PRODUCTION
4. SEASONALITY OF HERBAGE SUPPLY
5. PASTURE RENEWAL
6. PASTURE FERTILAZITIONS
7. GRAZING METHODS
8. SWARD MONITORING
9. INTEGRATING GRAZING AND CONSERVATION
10. FORAGE QUALITY AND ANIMAL NEEDS
11. FORAGE BUDGETTS
12. SUPPLEMENTS
Theoretical classes are taught in class for all chapters.
There are field and laboratory classes for identification of the herbage plants and their seeds, pasture production measurements, pasture budgeting and animal production exercises from forage at different growth stages.
How Grasses Grow. R.H.Langer. Studies in Biology nº34, 1979. Edward Arnold (Publishers) Limited, London.
Forages. The Science of Grassland Agriculture. Robert F Barnes et al., 2007. Blackwell Publishing.
Pastures, their ecology and management. R. H. Langer. Oxford, 1990. University Press.
Improved Grassland Management. J. Frame, 1992. Farming Press Books, U.K.
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