UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS OF HERBAGE ACCUMULATION IN TROPICAL GRASS SPECIES: THE BASIS FOR PLANNING EFFICIENT GRAZING MANAGEMENT PRACTICES1

The paper outlines initially general principles involving plant responses to defoliation practices and highlight the importance of target sward conditions for planning, monitoring and controlling grazing management of temperate pastures. Then, using this as a reference point, it moves on to presentation and discussion of available results from recent research on tropical and sub-tropical species evolving into a comparative analysis between the two types of grasses (tropical vs temperate). Similarities and differences are highlighted and opportunities for manipulation and management identified, demonstrating the importance and the potential benefits of using target sward conditions also for tropical/sub-tropical pastures. The need for analogous information on animal responses is recognised and briefly discussed